United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hello all. I am new to the forums. I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. My name is Denise, married to Adam and we have a wonderful toddler Jocelyn who is 19 months old. She suffered a BPI at birth. She had the cord wrapped around her neck, she was kind of big (9 pounds 10 ounces) and the vacuum was used to get her out since she was in distress and fading fast. We have recently started wondering about bringing about a malpractice suit against the hospital. I just don't even know where to begin! I printed out a list of lawyers that are fluent in medical malpractice from the Minnesota Bar Association but haven't called yet as I am nervous and don't even know what to say!

Jocelyn is recovering well but still not 100%, like they said she would be at one year old. She has been going to PT since she was 3 weeks old and about 7 months ago we added OT to the mix and she does one week with one and the next with the other, alternating. I just wanted to say hello and will be catching up and reading lots of threads as I can to meet everyone!

Welcome to the boards!

Feel free to post any and all questions!

Very often the doctors tell the parents that the BPI will be "all healed" in a year, and as you can see this is really not the case.

Glad to hear that your little one is making progress!

Marieke, 32 LOBPI

HI Denise

welcome to the board!! I'm sorry to hear of your daughter's injury.
We have daughters almost the same age, my daughter Cassidy is 22 months.
as far as medical malpractice, I know in Canada we only have until her second birthday to file suit and then she has until she is eighteen to file suit.
it's a hard decision, we just finally made up our minds about two months ago to go ahead with a law suit.
if you do decide to take legal action I would make sure to find a lawyer who is familiar with brachial Plexus injuries......Medical Malpractice is tough but BPI cases are even harder.I wish you the best of luck in your decision.....
the people here are great and they are always willing to share their experiences.....
Dawn, mom to Cassidy 22 months ROBPI(right obstetrical brachial plexus injury)

Denise,

The statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases concerning children is Minnesota is rather confusing. The general statute of limitations is 4 years, but in cases involving children can extend to 1 year past the child's 18th birthday. Minnesoate though recognizes a rule called the statute of repose. This rule is actually more important and severe than the statute of limitations. In Minnesota the statute of repose allows only until 7 years from birth to file case. That is the rule you must be aware of and follow. So, to answer your question, you must file the case no later than your child's 7th birthday.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have nay other questions, please post a note or contact directly.

Ken Levine
Klevine@Klevinelaw.com
www.Klevinelaw.com
617-566-2700

Thanks all for the warm welcome! It is good to finally find a place that has so many similar parents going through these things! I have been trying to find new ways to strengthen her left shoulder muscle and stretch it out. She is at that age now and it gets tough to get her to do some of the things she should, as those terrible two's are nearly upon us! LOL Any tips to online resources for exercises would be helpful! That and I just need to get more familiar with all these medical terms that still confuse me after all the time!

Ken - thank you so very much for your advice. We thought we only had 2 years, so it is good to know we have more time if need be. A lot of family said they have woncered why we have taken so long and to be honest I am so scared to be painted as a parent who just isn't doing enough, even though I feel we are. I will try and gather any questions I have and email you if that is okay, to keep it off here.

Denise

hey again,
I just wanted to respond to the part of your post where you said you didn't want other people to think that you aren't doing enough......I know exactly how you feel!! we struggled so much with the choice to file suit and for the longest time weren't going to, I felt at peace about it....but then all of a sudden time started running out and my mind began to change...in the meantime I had other parents constantly on my case about suing.....you just have to do what you feel is best for your family, it's such a personal choice. I just wanted to encourage you by letting you know that you aren't alone in feeling that way and that just because you do or don't file a lawsuit doesn't mean you love your child anymore or any less.....best of luck to you and your family....
Dawn, Mom to Cassidy 22 months ROBPI

Denise,

My toddler is about the same age as yours and has never had surgeries, but still has internal rotation. We are trying to strengthen the infraspunitas muscles and the rhomboid muscles. We found out that the best exercises for the infraspunitas is swinging on an adult swing (the kind where they need to hold on and maintain their balance) and climbing ladders or playsets. For her rhomboid muscles the best exercises were crawling and reaching into her back pocket.

Since we are located in a cold weather area we have installed a swing (on a 350 pound strong chin up bar), tunnels, and climbing area with slide and ladders over gymnastic mats in our house. I hope this helps.

Thanks for all the replies!

Jocelyn has a Left BPI and has been improving each week at therapy but her major issue now is stretching out that shoulder muscle to give her more of a full range of motion. Her wrist recovered nicely and she can now feed herself with her left hand/wrist but currently she still can't bring her left arm any higher then to touch her nose. I am not as well versed in the technical medical terms but getting better. I have asked her 2 therapists to continue to write down as much info for me (since my husband takes her to therapy due to my crappy work schedule) so that I can research more ideas to get her moving more.

Can we post pictures here? I could show a picture of her and her progress.

Those are good ideas, BPI Mom! Once the weather gets a little warmer we will have to take her to the park right down the street nightly to help with that. She goes through the tunnels and playmat, climbing mats at therapy and loves it. Unfortunately in our current town home we don't have room to add any of the things you have.

Believe it or not, we have a very tiny place with only a living room and kitchen. We moved the sofa and chairs against the wall to make room for the climbing area in the middle of the living room. The chin-up bar swing is between the kitchen and living room. It takes up nearly all our available space, but is definitely worth it since she spends all of her time here. Best of luck.