Tom Dukes and Ruth Osborne obtained a defense verdict recently for a local physician in an obstetric malpractice case.

Tom Dukes and Ruth Osborne obtained a defense verdict recently for a local physician in an obstetric malpractice case. The child was diagnosed shortly after birth with a brachial plexus injury which led to a permanent Erb’s palsy. The Plaintiff claimed that there was excessive lateral traction applied associated with the delivery and thus that the obstetrician was negligent. The defense contended that it was the forces of labor which accounted for the injury, and not any wrongdoing by the obstetrician. The jury verdict exonerated the physician of any wrongdoing. (January, 2010)