Indianapolis Brachial Plexus Injury Lawyer

The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that controls movement and sensation in the shoulder, arm, and hand. When a delivering provider applies excessive lateral traction to a newborn’s head, especially during a shoulder dystocia, the nerve roots between C5 and T1 can stretch, rupture, or be torn from the spinal cord entirely. Some of these injuries heal on their own. The serious ones do not, and the difference between a child who regains full arm function and a child who needs lifelong therapy and reconstructive surgery often comes down to how the delivery was managed in the seconds the obstetrician had to act.

If you want to know exactly how Indiana law applies to your child’s case, contact our Indianapolis medical malpractice attorneys for a free consultation.

How Christie Bell & Marshall Builds an Indianapolis Brachial Plexus Case

When you partner with CBM on a brachial plexus injury claim, you can expect a records-first investigation and a clear plan for what comes next, from expert review to the medical review panel. Your attorney will:

• Order the complete labor and delivery record, including fetal monitoring strips, nursing notes, anesthesia records, the operative report, and the delivery summary, then run them past a board-certified maternal-fetal medicine specialist before any Notice of Claim is filed.
• Subpoena the prenatal record from the OB clinic to evaluate whether macrosomia, gestational diabetes, prior shoulder dystocia, or other shoulder dystocia risk factors were properly identified and counseled.
• Retain a pediatric neurologist, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, and where appropriate a brachial plexus reconstructive surgeon to document the type and severity of the injury and project a lifetime course of care.
• Engage a life-care planner and an economist to project the cost of physical and occupational therapy, surgical interventions, durable medical equipment, lost earning capacity, and household services adjustments through adulthood.
• Build the medical review panel submission with the same depth of evidence we would bring to trial, because the panel opinion is admissible and often decisive.
• Coordinate with Riley Hospital, IU Health, and Community Health Network specialists when the family is already inside one of those care systems, so the legal record and the medical record stay aligned.
• Calendar the IC 34-18-7-1 minor tolling deadline at the earliest possible moment and work backward from the eighth birthday to make sure the panel process and any subsequent filing fit inside the window.

If you want an honest assessment of whether negligent delivery management caused your child’s injury, this is the process we begin right away. We will walk you through each stage in plain language as the case develops. Get in touch today so we can evaluate your case and give you honest advice about your best options for compensation.

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Types of Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries

Not every brachial plexus injury is the same, and the type controls both the prognosis and the value of any malpractice claim. CBM works with pediatric neurology and brachial plexus specialists from the first record review to pin down which pattern is in play, because the difference between a stretch injury and a nerve avulsion changes the surgical timeline, the life-care plan, and the demand we put in front of the panel.

• Erb’s palsy (C5-C6, sometimes C7). The most common pattern. Affects the upper trunk of the brachial plexus, producing a “waiter’s tip” position with the arm rotated inward and the wrist flexed. Recovery rates depend on whether the nerves were stretched, ruptured, or avulsed.
• Klumpke’s palsy (C8-T1). Less common. Affects the lower trunk and produces a clawed hand and weakened grip. Frequently presents alongside Horner’s syndrome, with a drooping eyelid and small pupil on the affected side.
• Total brachial plexus palsy. The full plexus is involved, the entire arm is flaccid, and the prognosis without surgical intervention is poor.
• Neuropraxia, rupture, and avulsion. A neuropraxia is a stretch injury that usually heals within a few months. A rupture is a torn nerve that may need a nerve graft to recover. An avulsion, where the nerve root is torn from the spinal cord itself, is the most severe pattern and usually requires nerve transfer surgery to restore any function.

The right diagnosis comes from a pediatric neurologist or a brachial plexus specialist working with electrodiagnostic testing and high-resolution MRI. Riley Hospital for Children runs one of the most respected brachial plexus clinics in the Midwest, and many of the families we work with are seeing one of its specialists alongside their CBM legal team.

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How These Injuries Happen in Indianapolis, and When the Standard of Care Is Breached

A birth injury is not automatically malpractice. Indiana plaintiffs have to prove that a specific provider, in a specific moment, deviated from the standard of care a reasonably competent obstetrician would have followed. In a brachial plexus case the deviation usually shows up in one or more of the following decision points:

• Failure to identify and act on macrosomia risk. A baby projected to weigh more than 4,500 grams, especially with a diabetic mother, raises the risk of shoulder dystocia. The standard of care includes counseling the patient about a planned cesarean.
• Failure to recognize and respond to shoulder dystocia. The McRoberts maneuver, suprapubic pressure, and the Rubin and Woods corkscrew maneuvers are the recognized first responses. Pulling harder on the head is not.
• Excessive lateral traction during delivery. This is the single most common mechanism of a permanent brachial plexus injury, and the delivery note rarely says so plainly. Pulling the cause out of the chart is a job for a maternal-fetal medicine expert reading the same record the defense will read.
• Misuse of forceps or vacuum extraction. Operative vaginal delivery has its own indications and contraindications, and using either tool when the head is not engaged or when shoulder dystocia is already developing is itself a deviation.
• Inadequate documentation of the dystocia maneuvers performed. A defense built on “we did everything right” falls apart when the chart does not say what was done in what order.

CBM works with maternal-fetal medicine experts and pediatric neurology specialists to take the delivery record apart minute by minute and identify exactly where the standard of care was breached.

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Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Laws: What Controls Your Brachial Plexus Claim

Indiana medical malpractice claims do not run on the same rules as a car accident or a slip and fall. The Indiana Medical Malpractice Act at IC 34-18 imposes a separate procedural track and a hard cap on recovery.

The $1.8 Million Damages Cap

For acts of malpractice occurring on or after July 1, 2019, total damages in an Indiana med mal case are capped at $1.8 million per incident. The cap covers economic and non-economic damages combined. The provider and the provider’s insurer are responsible for the first $500,000, and the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund (PCF) covers the difference up to the cap. Building a case to its maximum value almost always means proving up against both layers, because the PCF rarely pays without a panel opinion or a court judgment in front of it.

The Medical Review Panel Process

Before a medical complaint can be filed in an Indiana court for damages above $15,000, the proposed claim must be submitted to a medical review panel under IC 34-18-8. The panel consists of a non-voting attorney chair and three physicians, typically chosen from the same specialty area as the defendant. The panel reviews the records, hears from both sides, and issues a written opinion on whether the provider met the standard of care and whether any breach caused the alleged injury. The opinion is admissible at trial.

A favorable panel opinion drives settlement. An unfavorable one rarely ends the case but raises the bar for what the plaintiff has to prove at trial.

Statute of Limitations and the Critical Minor Tolling Rule

Under IC 34-18-7-1, an adult medical claim runs on a two-year occurrence-based statute of limitations. For a minor child under the age of six at the time of the malpractice, the claim must be filed by the child’s eighth birthday.

That tolling rule is the difference between a brachial plexus case that can still be brought when the child is five and one that is barred. Parents who delay because the doctor said “she will grow out of it” sometimes lose the legal claim while the medical claim is still developing.

Comparative Fault Does Not Apply

Indiana’s modified comparative fault rule under IC 34-51-2 does not apply to medical malpractice claims. The defense of contributory negligence remains available in theory but is rarely a meaningful obstacle in a brachial plexus birth injury case, because a newborn cannot be at fault.

The team at Christie Bell & Marshall maps every brachial plexus case against this framework from intake forward, because the procedural track determines the timeline, the cost, and the negotiating position available at every stage.

Compensation in an Indianapolis Brachial Plexus Case

Your child’s brachial plexus claim has to fund the medical reality that goes with the injury, not just the bills sitting on the kitchen table right now. CBM builds the demand around a pediatric life-care plan and an economic loss report so every category below is on the table when we sit down with the provider, the insurer, and the Patient’s Compensation Fund:

• Past and future medical bills, including diagnostic imaging, neurology visits, physical and occupational therapy, nerve graft and tendon transfer surgeries, and any subsequent reconstructive procedures
• Long-term assistive equipment, splints, orthotics, and home modifications
• Educational support and accommodations through the school years
• Pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and the emotional impact of growing up with a permanent functional limit
• Disfigurement, when arm length differences or scarring are visible
• Lost earning capacity once the child reaches working age, projected by a vocational expert
• Loss of consortium and household services impact for the parents

Recovering every category above, up to the limits Indiana’s malpractice cap allows, is the work our Brachial Plexus lawyers do on a brachial plexus case. Your demand should reflect the full long-term picture, not the snapshot the defense panel tries to freeze at the date of birth.

Talk to an Indianapolis Brachial Plexus Injury Lawyer

If your child suffered a brachial plexus injury during delivery at any Marion County hospital, do not let the eighth birthday clock run out before you know whether you have a case. Christie Bell & Marshall will get to work while your family focuses on your child’s care.

The consultation is free, the representation runs on contingency with no fee unless we win, and 40+ years of Indiana medical malpractice experience come standard on every CBM case. That conversation is confidential, carries no obligation, and gives you a clear picture of what to expect. Reach our Indianapolis personal injury attorneys online today.

FAQs About Indianapolis Brachial Plexus

What is the difference between Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy?

Both are brachial plexus injuries, but they affect different nerve roots and produce different patterns. Erb’s palsy involves the upper trunk (C5-C6, sometimes C7) and produces an arm that is rotated inward with a flexed wrist, often called a “waiter’s tip” position. Klumpke’s palsy involves the lower trunk (C8-T1) and produces a clawed hand and weak grip, often alongside Horner’s syndrome on the affected side. Erb’s palsy is more common; Klumpke’s palsy is rarer and usually associated with more severe traction.

How do I know if my child’s brachial plexus injury was caused by medical negligence?

Most brachial plexus birth injuries are caused by lateral traction applied to the head during a shoulder dystocia. Whether that traction was excessive, and whether the standard of care was breached, is a fact-specific question that requires a maternal-fetal medicine expert reviewing the full record. Red flags include a baby above 4,500 grams, a diabetic mother, a prior shoulder dystocia, the use of forceps or vacuum, and a delivery note that documents pulling but does not document the McRoberts and other shoulder dystocia maneuvers in the right sequence. CBM will pull the record at no cost to you and have it reviewed by an expert before recommending whether to file a Notice of Claim.

What is the medical review panel and why does it matter for my brachial plexus case?

Under IC 34-18-8, every Indiana med mal claim seeking more than $15,000 has to be reviewed by a three-physician panel before it can be filed in court. The panel reviews the records and issues a written opinion on whether the provider breached the standard of care and whether the breach caused the injury. That opinion is admissible at trial, and it drives settlement value either direction. A favorable panel opinion is one of the single most important pieces of evidence in any Indiana brachial plexus case.

What is the deadline to file a brachial plexus claim in Indiana?

Indiana’s general med mal statute of limitations is two years from the date of the malpractice under IC 34-18-7-1. For a minor child under the age of six at the time of the alleged malpractice, the claim must be filed by the child’s eighth birthday. For a brachial plexus injury at birth, the practical deadline is the child’s eighth birthday, which sounds like a long runway but is short once you account for the medical review panel process, expert retention, and the time the panel itself takes to issue its opinion.

Can I still recover if my child has had some recovery already?

Yes. Many brachial plexus injuries improve over time, and a child who has regained partial function still has a real malpractice claim if the residual deficit is permanent or if the recovery required surgery, intensive therapy, or assistive equipment. The damages model adjusts to the medical picture; the legal claim survives partial recovery in nearly every case where the underlying breach of standard of care is provable.