Brachial plexus injuries are avoidable

Recently, a Cedar Falls couple was awarded a $1.3 million verdict after their daughter suffered a brachial plexus injury. The jury decided the doctor used excessive traction when the shoulder was stuck.

I have studied these injuries for six years and have met with surgeons across the country. I will be traveling in October to meet with a medical team specializing in brachial plexus injuries. These injuries are almost always the result of inpatient doctors or those who lack basic child delivery skills.

There are at least a dozen techniques to relieve shoulder dystocia. Pulling on a baby's head during delivery when the shoulder is stuck is what is causing these injuries. This unnecessary birth injury can lead to lifelong disabilities, limitations, struggles in daily living, extensive therapy, multiple surgeries, financial hardship, physical pain and emotional challenges.

If you have a child who suffered this type of injury and cannot afford treatment, please contact El Kahir Shriners. They have an excellent surgical team in Minnesota and Philadelphia.

If you want your health insurance to go down, do not look at the victims who seek compensation for damages, but rather the doctors causing the problems.

Write your legislators to draft legislation to get these bad doctors out of practice.

Steve Harford

Cedar Rapids