Since 1988, Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen has represented families who have lost loved ones to someone else's negligent actions. Our firm has a proven track record of success, winning millions of dollars in rightful compensation for our clients.
Miami Shoulder Dystocia Lawyers
Millions In Compensation Recovered for Birth Injury Victims
Childbirth may be safer than it was in previous generations, but the potential for complications still exist. When complications do arise, they demand accurate diagnoses, appropriate response, and timely intervention in order to prevent serious injuries.
Unfortunately, treating physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals do not always meet their duty to provide an acceptable standard of care. If substandard care coincides with complications such as shoulder dystocia, babies can suffer needless harm.
At Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen, we’re leaders in the field of medical malpractice and birth injury litigation. Backed by decades of collective experience and a comprehensive team of attorneys, medical investigators, and support staff, we help families across Florida fight for the justice they deserve.
GRYC: A Proven Record of Success
- More Than $1 Billion In Verdicts & Settlements
- Record Results in Birth Injury & Medical Negligence Cases
- Attorneys Named Among The Best Lawyers in America® and Florida Super Lawyers®
- Personalized Representation: We Put Clients First
If you have a potential claim involving shoulder dystocia and related birth injuries, please call or contact us online. We offer FREE consultations to victims across Florida and beyond.
Shoulder Dystocia & Preventable Birth Injuries
Shoulder dystocia is a childbirth complication that occurs when a baby’s shoulder (or both shoulders) become stuck behind the mother’s pelvis.
While babies are born safely in many cases of shoulder dystocia, the complication can pose significant risks for both baby and mother. Avoiding injury requires proper care at every phase.
During Pregnancy: Occurring in just 0.2 to 3% of pregnancies, shoulder dystocia can be difficult for health care providers to predict or prevent, and is typically discovered only after labor has begun. However, treating physicians can identify various risk factors that may make a mother more likely to experience shoulder dystocia (and address or prepare for them accordingly).
Examples of these risks factors include:
- Large babies (macrosomia) or twins / multiples;
- Pre-existing or gestational diabetes;
- Shoulder dystocia in a previous pregnancy;
- Overweight / excessive weight gain during pregnancy;
During Labor & Delivery: Although there are indicators that may give providers reason to expect complications, providers must act promptly and properly to address shoulder dystocia when it arises during birth, whether they expected it or not.
This means dealing with various conditions or complications appropriately during labor and delivery, and executing accepted interventions properly. Labor and delivery risk factors may involve:
- Improper use of labor-inducing drugs (i.e. Pitocin);
- Exerting too much force when manipulating the baby during delivery;
- Improper use of forceps and vacuum extractors;
- Failing to perform a C-section / delayed C-section when medically warranted;
- Intentionally breaking the baby’s clavicle or mother’s pelvic bone;
- Administering an epidural or performing a deep episiotomy.
In cases of shoulder dystocia, doctors may try to re-position babies for a safer birth. This can involve positioning the mother in the McRoberts maneuver (thighs against belly), applying suprapubic pressure just above the pelvic bone, and gentle manipulation of the baby. In some cases, doctors may perform a C-section or episiotomy, which both have their own inherent risks.
Injuries Caused by Shoulder Dystocia
Failure to properly handle shoulder dystocia can result in injuries to babies and mothers. For mothers, this can include post-partum hemorrhage (PPH), perineum tearing necessitating surgical repair, and uterine rupture. For babies, this may include:
- Damage to the brachial plexus / Erb’s palsy
- Fractures of the arm or collarbone
- Oxygen deprivation resulting in birth asphyxia / brain damage
- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
Investigating Medical Negligence With Proven Attorneys
Medical malpractice cases are notoriously complex, fact-specific, and prone to aggressive defense by providers and their insurance carriers. As such, it is critically important for any family pursuing a claim to work with attorneys capable of devoting the time, resources, and attention these claims require.
At Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen, we have refined our approach to these complex claims. In addition to leveraging extensive experience, we also work closely with medical experts to assess the care provided to our clients, and whether standards were missed by hospitals or treating professionals. Through meticulous investigation and unwavering commitment, we position clients for positive resolutions.
Learn more about your rights and options by request a FREE case review. GRYC proudly serves clients across South Florida and beyond.
A Legacy of Compassion & Excellence
Working With Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen-
Changing Lives by Changing The Law
Since our firm opened, we've made it our mission to get justice for our clients and their families. We've not only taken on cases that other firms had turned down, but we've also fought to get unjust laws and restrictions overturned or modified.
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A Team of Legal Professionals
Complex legal cases require extensive research, trial experience, and industry knowledge, which is why we always have a team of attorneys working on every case we take on. Our team-centric approach to litigation means that we're able to really focus on getting our clients the best possible outcome.
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There Are No Upfront Legal Fees
We handle all of our claims on a contingency fee basis and will handle all legal fees, court costs, and expert fees related to your specific case. With decades of experience in this industry, we have a wealth of experts we work with routinely to ensure your case is handled with the utmost care.
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We Understand the Medicine
Our attorneys not only take the time to understand the evidence in your case, but also the pathology and medical techniques used in your specific situation. We believe that any attorney that takes on these types of cases needs to be on equal footing with medical professionals and physicians.
A LEGACY OF CHANGING LIVES
Millions Recovered on Behalf of Our Clients-
Medical Malpractice Seven-Figure Orthopedic Medical Malpractice
A Punta Gorda, Florida woman in her forties visited an ear, nose, and throat specialist for a check-up due to fatigue. After performing a brief examination, the doctor at the facility recommended that she undergo parathyroid surgery, however he did not order the necessary radiological scan that determines which side of her neck should be operated on. Without that information available, the surgeon began on the wrong side of her neck and did not realize his error until they were well into the procedure.
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Medical Malpractice Seven-Figure Settlement for Woman Who Lost Her Leg After Misdiagnosis
A woman in her sixties was brought to a hospital after she slipped and fell, injuring her leg and causing severe pain. During her treatment, the hospital staff failed to notice that the impact had caused a blood clot behind her knee, which was restricting circulation to the rest of her leg. Over time, the untreated clot cut off blood flow to the point where her leg was beyond saving and needed amputation.
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Medical Malpractice Seven-Figure Settlement for Family of Mother Who Died During Childbirth
In 2015, a 23-year-old mother began experiencing severe complications while giving birth in Charlotte County, Florida. The hospital’s staff did not give her the attention she needed, and failed to realize that her complications required an emergency transfer to a Sarasota County Hospital, which had the needed staff and equipment to treat her. The mother and her unborn child eventually died in the hospital.
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Medical Malpractice Seven-Figure Settlement for Misdiagnosis of a Blood Clot
A 68-year-old man was complaining about pain in his left leg, which was swollen, red, and painful. He went to a local emergency room, and the family asked the doctor if it was a blood clot. The doctor assured the family that it was not a blood clot but was instead cellulitis from a sunburn. When the patient returned home the next day, he died of a pulmonary embolism due to the blood clot that was initially suspected by the family.
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Medical Malpractice Over $1 Million Settlement for Medical Malpractice Victim
A middle-aged man had a history of an aortic aneurysm. His plan was to fly to Stanford University, where a doctor was scheduled to repair the aneurysm. Rather than starting the transfer to Stanford the day he arrived, the hospital waited three days and then failed to get his insurance company to pay for the transfer. Tragically, while the patient was speaking with the insurance company on the phone about the transfer, the aneurysm ruptured, and he died.
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Jury Verdict Against the University of Florida $23,500,000
A $23.5 million medical malpractice jury verdict against the University of Florida on behalf of a woman who suffered a massive stroke when a medical procedure to ease her migraines went wrong.
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Jury Verdict on Behalf of a Former Major League Baseball Star $898,000
A medical malpractice jury verdict on behalf of a former Major League Baseball star against an ophthalmologist for negligence in the removal of a cataract and implantation of an artificial lens in our client’s left eye.
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Medical Malpractice Eight-Figure Settlement for Victim of Nursing Medical Malpractice
A middle-aged woman was in a hospital recovering from a brain aneurysm. While recovering in her hospital room, she grew agitated and began pulling on the tracheostomy tube connected to her neck. The nurse on duty documented that she was pulling at her tubes six different times in 24 hours, and yet did nothing to prevent her from being able to dismantle the tubes.
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Medical Malpractice Eight-Figure Settlement for Failure to Timely Treat a Heart Attack
After successfully opening and stenting a 53-year-old man's blocked artery, while in the recovery room, the patient suffered another heart attack, but this time it took medical staff nearly 90 minutes to get him back to the catheterization lab. Due to the delay, his heart stopped. He was revived in the operating room, but he suffered a hypoxic brain injury, causing massive brain damage.
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Medical Malpractice Seven-Figure Settlement for Victim of Cardiology Medical Malpractice
A 46-year-old man was undergoing heart surgery at a South Florida hospital after suffering a heart attack. During the procedure, the cardiologist perforated the patient’s left anterior descending artery. The patient died, leaving behind an 11-year-old daughter and wife.
