In this episode, John Maher talks with Christopher Mellino, founding attorney of the Mellino Law Firm, about Klumpke’s Palsy malpractice lawsuits. Chris explains how Klumpke’s Palsy occurs during labor and delivery, common allegations in these cases, and the potential long-term complications for affected babies. He also discusses the key elements needed to prove medical malpractice, potential outcomes, and the types of damages plaintiffs can recover, including future care costs, lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering.
John Maher: Hi, I am John Maher and I'm here today with Christopher Mellino, founding attorney of the Mellino Law Firm, a personal injury law firm in Cleveland, Ohio, with a focus on medical malpractice. Chris has over 40 years of experience in handling medical malpractice cases, has been involved in several landmark cases in Ohio, and has received verdicts against every hospital system in Cleveland. Today we're talking about Klumpke's Palsy malpractice lawsuits. Welcome, Chris.
Christopher Mellino: Hi, John. It's nice to see you again and thanks for having me here today.
What is Klumpke’s Palsy and How Does it Occur?
Maher: Sure. So Chris, what is Klumpke's Palsy and how does that occur?
Mellino: Well, Klumpke's Palsy is injury to the nerves in the neck, and it most commonly occurs during a labor and delivery. Something will happen where the baby gets stuck during delivery and so the baby's head will be outside the birth canal, but the rest of his or her body will still be stuck in the birth canal and really can only occur one way. And that is if the doctor in trying to deliver the rest of the baby's body out of the birth canal either pulls too hard on the baby's head and neck or pushes down in a bad. So it pushes down in such a way that it causes stretching of the nerves in the neck.
Maher: So, this causes an injury to the baby when it's being born?
Mellino: Yes, it's a birth injury that results in injuries. Even though it happens in the nerves and the neck, it actually results in injuries most commonly to the baby's arm or hands.
What are Common Allegations of Malpractice in A Klumpke’s Palsy Case?
Maher: What are some of the most common allegations of malpractice in a Klumpke's Palsy case?
Mellino: There's two main allegations. One is that the baby gets stuck like that. It's a couple of things. One, the baby could be in a breech position or an abnormal position coming through the birth canal. So then the baby gets to the entrance of the birth canal, gets stuck. So it's a failure to recognize that the baby's in a breech and can't deliver vaginally, then the doctor should do a C-section. So it'd be a failure to recognize that.
And the second thing would be that if there wasn't any reason to anticipate the baby would get stuck, that once the baby is stuck, then there's a series of maneuvers that doctors are supposed to be trained to do to deliver the baby so that there's not excessive force put on the baby in that situation. And I did mention before, but one other way that excessive force gets put on the baby in that situation is with the doctor tries to deliver using forceps.
What is the Issue with Delivering Using Forceps?
Maher: Can you talk a little bit more about that, what the issue is with forceps?
Mellino: Yeah. Well the forceps is now you're introducing an artificial way to deliver and you could put a lot more force on the baby's head and neck with forceps or mechanical force that than you could just using, not using something mechanical like that. And just using the natural forces of labor. So if the baby does get stuck and something called shoulder dystocia, if that happens and you use forceps, it just increases the risk that you can get a Klumpke's Palsy.
How and When is Klumpke’s Palsy Diagnosed?
Maher: Is there any issue with a misdiagnosis or a delay in diagnosis or treatment of Klumpke's Palsy? Is it something that would be obvious as soon as it happens, or is it something that the signs that it has happened show up later after birth?
Mellino: It usually doesn't show up right after birth, but there's no real issue with that delay in the diagnosis because it is something that's normally not diagnosed right away, but the baby's arm will be limp. And so as you can imagine with a baby, you're not always going to recognize that right away. But one of the ways, in severe cases, one of the ways to treat a Klumpke's Palsy is with surgery and any time you're treating nerves, the sooner you can do it, the better or the higher the likelihood that you get a good result. But it's not something right away, but something in the first few weeks or months of life should be recognized and treatment options considered.
Can Klumpke’s Palsy Lead to Long-Term Complications?
Maher: Can Klumpke's Palsy lead to really long-term complications for the baby?
Mellino: Yes, it can. And in severe cases, it can result in deformity of the arms and hands. The child will have claw hands and only be able to hold their arms in a certain way, or they may have paralysis of an arm. So yeah, it can have some devastating consequences to the baby throughout their life.
What are Key Elements to Prove in a Klumpke’s Palsy Malpractice Case?
Maher: So, what are some of the key elements that a plaintiff needs to prove in a Klumpke's Palsy malpractice lawsuit in order to win a lawsuit like that?
Mellino: Sure. There's two main elements. One is, should the doctor have recognized that there was the likelihood of shoulder dystocia, things I mentioned before, was the baby going to be large? Was there disproportion between the size of the baby and the size of the mother's pelvis? Did the mom have difficult deliveries prior to this? And then the second thing would be if there was shoulder dystocia, did the doctor use excessive force? What maneuvers he used, how he tried to deliver the baby? Those are the two big things.
Potential Outcomes of a Klumpke’s Palsy Malpractice Lawsuit
Maher: And then what are the potential outcomes of a Klumpke's Palsy malpractice lawsuit, including damages or maybe even potential changes in medical practice and things that doctors might do differently in the future?
Mellino: So, the types of compensation that recoverable in a Klumpke's Palsy lawsuit are the cost of future care for the child and for the lifetime. Any kind of aids or devices that will assist if the person's not able to use their arm because of Klumpke's Palsy, there are assist adapted devices they'd be able to use. If it would obviously cause a limitation on the earnings that the person could have, the types of jobs, the type of work they could do if they could only use one arm.
So, you can recover from any kind of reduced earning capacity over the person's lifetime. Pain and suffering and the damages would be for both the child and the parents who are raising the child. And we hope that in every case, when you hold the wrongdoers accountable of that, it does change the way doctors approach that situation in the future.
Maher: All right, well that's really great information, Chris. Thanks again for speaking with me today.
Mellino: All right, you're welcome.
Information About Mellino Law Firm
Maher: And for more information, you can visit the Mellino Law Firm website at mellinolaw.com or call (440) 333-3800.