Klumpke's Palsy Your Injury, Our Fight

Klumpke’s Palsy Lawyer in Albuquerque

When a Birth Injury Affects Your Child’s Hand & Arm

When a newborn has little or no movement in the hand or wrist after delivery, families deserve to understand whether the injury was unavoidable or whether something during the birth contributed to the nerve damage.

Klumpke’s palsy involves injury to the lower portion of the brachial plexus, the network of nerves that carries signals between the spinal cord and the arm and hand. At Buckingham & Vega Law Firm, we represent Albuquerque families in serious birth injury cases, including brachial plexus injuries.

A diagnosis alone does not establish medical negligence. A potential claim requires careful review of the child’s neurologic findings, the mechanics of the delivery, the care provided before and during birth, and whether any departure from the applicable standard of care caused the injury.

Call (505) 388-0066 or contact us online for a free, confidential consultation about your child’s potential Klumpke’s palsy case.

What Klumpke’s Palsy Means

Klumpke’s palsy affects the lower portion of the brachial plexus, most commonly involving the C8 and T1 nerve roots.

Because these nerves contribute substantially to movement and sensation in the forearm, wrist, and hand, a lower-plexus injury may cause weakness or paralysis involving the hand and fingers, reduced grip function, sensory changes, or characteristic positioning of the hand.

The severity depends on the location and extent of the nerve injury. Medical evaluation may distinguish between stretching or temporary nerve dysfunction and more significant injuries involving nerve rupture or avulsion.

Klumpke’s palsy differs from Erb’s palsy, which primarily affects the upper portion of the brachial plexus. Identifying which nerve roots are involved can be important both medically and when reconstructing what may have occurred during delivery.

How a Delivery-Related Lower Brachial Plexus Injury May Occur

The classic mechanism associated with injury to the lower brachial plexus involves forceful hyperabduction or traction of the arm.

Birth-related Klumpke patterns are less common than upper-plexus injuries such as Erb’s palsy. In some reported obstetric cases, lower-root involvement has been associated with difficult deliveries, including circumstances in which an infant’s arm was subjected to traction or abnormal positioning.

Shoulder dystocia is an important cause of neonatal brachial plexus injury generally, but it more commonly affects the upper plexus or, in severe cases, a larger portion of the plexus. For that reason, a diagnosis labeled Klumpke’s palsy should be evaluated based on the child’s actual neurologic findings rather than assuming that a particular delivery complication caused the injury.

A legal review may examine the delivery position, any documented shoulder dystocia or breech presentation, obstetric maneuvers, traction or force documented during delivery, neonatal findings, and later neurologic evaluation.

Call (505) 388-0066 for a free, confidential consultation about your child’s potential Klumpke’s palsy claim.

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What We Examine in a Klumpke’s Palsy Claim

A New Mexico medical malpractice claim generally requires evidence that a provider owed a duty of care, failed to meet the applicable medical standard, and caused an injury that resulted in damages.

We evaluate each part of that framework rather than assuming that a difficult delivery or brachial plexus diagnosis proves negligence.

Depending on the case, our review may include:

Prenatal and obstetric records
Labor and delivery notes
Fetal monitoring records
Documentation of shoulder dystocia, breech presentation, or delivery maneuvers
Neonatal examinations
Neurology, orthopedic, and rehabilitation records
Imaging or nerve studies when available
Physical and occupational therapy records
Documentation of ongoing functional limitations and future care needs

The medical timeline matters because it can help clarify what providers observed, how the delivery unfolded, when weakness or paralysis was first documented, and whether the medical evidence supports a connection between the care provided and the child’s condition.

Medical Insight & Birth Injury Trial Experience

Founding attorney Kent Buckingham practiced for several years as an eye doctor before beginning his legal career. His clinical background gives him an additional perspective when reviewing complex medical records, disputed causation, and expert opinions.

He is also Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Our firm’s birth injury experience includes a $72 million jury verdict arising from an obstetrician-gynecologist’s failure to properly monitor a mother during pregnancy. Buckingham & Vega Law Firm identifies that result as the largest medical malpractice verdict in New Mexico history.

That case involved a different birth injury and does not predict the outcome of another matter. It reflects the firm’s experience presenting complex medical evidence in serious birth injury litigation.

New Mexico Deadlines for Medical Malpractice Claims

New Mexico’s Medical Malpractice Act generally requires malpractice claims against covered health care providers to be filed within three years after the alleged act of malpractice.

The current statute provides a different extension for minors and incapacitated persons. Rather than applying the former rule that gave certain young children until their ninth birthday, current law extends the applicable period so that minors and incapacitated persons have one year after reaching the age of majority or after the incapacity ends to commence the action.

The correct deadline still depends on the defendants and legal framework involved.

Claims involving a governmental hospital, public entity, or public employee may fall under the New Mexico Tort Claims Act instead and can involve separate notice requirements and a different limitations period.

Because these rules can differ substantially, families should not rely on a generic online deadline to decide whether a claim remains timely.

When the New Mexico Medical Review Commission Applies

New Mexico requires certain malpractice claims against qualifying independent health care providers who are natural persons to proceed through the New Mexico Medical Review Commission before a court action moves forward, unless the patient and provider agree to forego the panel process.

Hospitals and outpatient health care facilities are not submitted to the Commission under the same process.

In a typical single-provider case, the panel includes three members from the provider’s profession and three members of the State Bar, with an attorney serving as chair. Different composition rules can apply when multiple providers are involved.

Submitting an eligible claim to the Commission tolls the applicable limitations period. Under current law, the limitations period does not begin running again until 30 days after the panel’s final decision is entered and served as required by statute.

Identifying each potential defendant and whether that provider is qualified under the Medical Malpractice Act is therefore an important part of early case review.

Potential Damages in a Klumpke’s Palsy Case

Damages depend on the nature and severity of the injury and the losses supported by the evidence.

A claim may address costs related to:

Medical treatment
Physical or occupational therapy
Surgery or specialist care when medically necessary
Assistive devices or adaptive services
Future medical and rehabilitation needs
Other legally recoverable losses resulting from the injury

Future needs generally require medical and other appropriate evidence showing how the child’s condition may affect function, treatment, and care over time.

We do not assume a particular case value based solely on the diagnosis. The available damages depend on the medical evidence, the responsible parties, the applicable New Mexico law, and the child’s documented losses.

Request a Confidential Klumpke’s Palsy Case Review

Families do not need to determine on their own whether a nerve injury resulted from medical negligence before contacting our firm.

We offer free, confidential consultations and can review the delivery history, diagnosis, and records currently available. Virtual appointments and Spanish-language assistance are available.

We handle medical malpractice matters on a contingency-fee basis, so our legal fee is paid from a recovery if we obtain compensation for the client.

Call (505) 388-0066 or contact us online to discuss a potential Klumpke’s palsy claim with our Albuquerque birth injury attorneys.

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"Thank God we found him. He really seemed to care about our family."
Mr. Buckingham won our case after two other law firms said it would be impossible to win. He knew the medicine better than the experts in the case. I guess the fact that he’s also a doctor was a great help.

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They fought for my injured baby and made sure we would be taken care of for the rest of our lives. I highly recommend this law firm.

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Record-Setting $73.2 Million Birth Injury
The Buckingham & Vega team obtained a $73.2 million verdict in a birth injury case when an OB/ GYN failed to properly monitor the mom during pregnancy.
$16 Million Truck Accident
Buckingham & Vega obtained a $16 million settlement in a truck accident case. The truck driver was speeding and inattentive (texting) and crashed into the rear of a pickup truck stopped at a stoplight.
$14 Million Dram Shop Liability
Our team obtained a $14 million dram shop verdict on behalf of a client who was injured due to negligence.
$13 Million Truck Accident
Our team secured a $13 million settlement in a truck accident case. An eighteen-wheeler made an unsafe turn in front of a car driven by a grandmother and her family. The grandmother was killed and the family suffered severe injuries.
$13 Million Work Injury
Buckingham & Vega represented an oilfield worker who was killed when their company failed to properly train its employees on how to safely move waste bins. Our client was killed when he became trapped between two bins.
$12 Million Birth Injury
The attorneys at Buckingham & Vega obtained a $12 million birth injury settlement.

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