Facial Palsy

• Birth Injury
• Facial Palsy

Facial Nerve Paralysis at Birth

There is nothing quite like the moment when parents finally get to meet the newest member of their family. Seeing a child's face reflect joy for the very first time is a gift like no other. Unfortunately, injuries at birth can sometimes paralyze a newborn’s facial nerves and limit their ability to express themselves.

Facial palsy can be a side effect of multiple birth injuries that newborns may encounter during delivery. While infant facial paralysis is only temporary in some cases, it sometimes results in permanent nerve damage and disfigurement.

Some cases of a newborn’s facial paralysis are unavoidable. Other times, medical professionals can take steps to prevent common causes and risk factors. Missing birth complications like a neonatal infection or birth related head injury can increase their risk for cranial nerve damage.

If you believe a medical professional's inattention caused your child’s facial paralysis, you may be able to take legal action. When a healthcare provider’s negligent mistakes result in preventable birth injuries, it may count as medical malpractice.

Birth Injury Malpractice Attorneys

Our top rated birth injury lawyers help families seek justice and compensation for preventable injuries to mothers or their babies during childbirth. If you or your baby suffered preventable harm from nerve damage at birth, don’t hesitate to contact our firm. We can answer difficult legal and medical questions and investigate the facts on your behalf.

Free Legal Consultation
Birth Injury Lawyers
(888) 987-0005

Our Birth Injury Lawyers are available to meet you in your home or the hospital.

Our vast network of medical experts and in-house nursing staff and nurse-attorneys gives us the edge over our competition. When we take your case, we assign you with not just an attorney but an entire medical team. This team includes attorneys, experienced nursing advocates, and seasoned medical experts.

Your team is available to assist with any day-to-day treatment you or your child may need. This includes assistance with obtaining medical records, scheduling doctors’ appointments, providing transportation, and any other problems that may arise.

We offer all of this on a contingency fee basis. This means you will not pay any fees until after we win your case and secure a settlement. We have an unmatched track record of birth injury results that sets us apart from other birth injury law firms.

Recent Birth Injury Settlement:
Birth Injury settlement against a hospital in which nurses and physicians failed to properly monitor the mother's blood pressure during delivery causing an HIE event resulting in neonatal seizures and cerebral palsy at birth. Our team of top-rated birth injury lawyers recovered $13,750,000 for the family to help with future medical expenses and developmental therapy.

Million Dollar Results

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What is Facial Nerve Palsy?

Facial nerve paralysis (or facial palsy) is a birth injury causing weakness or paralyzing one side of the baby’s face.

We are able to express ourselves because of the seventh cranial nerve (or the “facial nerve”). This is a mixed nerve that carries nerve fibers responsible for controlling facial expression and movement.

If this nerve is under pressure or becomes damaged, the brain loses its ability to control the associated facial muscles. This can block a child’s ability to smile, blink, frown, and perform other voluntary facial movements.

Facial paralysis in children can occur suddenly or gradually over time and typically affects only one side of the face. Depending on the cause of the injury, the effects of facial palsy may only be temporary. However, the condition can sometimes have lasting impacts on a child's life.

What Are the Levels of Facial Palsy?

Medical professionals classify facial nerve injuries into three categories based on severity.

The three categories are as follows:

• First-degree injury: this occurs when the facial nerve undergoes concussion or mild bruising due to pressure. A child with a first-degree nerve injury typically recovers completely and does not experience involuntary facial movements. The average recovery period lasts around 4-6 weeks.

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• Second-degree injury: this occurs when the facial nerve endures prolonged compression. In these cases, the outer layer remains intact while more severe damage occurs to the nerve fibers inside. A child with second-degree nerve injury will very likely develop unwanted facial movements. The facial nerve will slowly repair at a rate of around one millimeter per day. The first signs of recovery appear around 12-16 weeks.

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• Third-degree injury: this suggests the facial nerve sustained severe damage or even severed completely. A severed facial nerve often requires surgical intervention to restore facial function. Recovery is much slower and almost always incomplete for children with a third-degree facial injury.

A medical professional should be able to properly classify a child’s facial nerve injuries after conducting a physical examination.

What Causes Facial Palsy in Newborns?

Generally speaking, facial paralysis can only stem from one of two things:

• The nerve itself has sustained damage and is no longer functioning as it should
• The nerve is fully functional but a brain injury is preventing signals from reaching it, making movement impossible

Multiple types of injuries during and after birth can cause either of these two outcomes. Some of the most common causes include:

Brain Damage at Birth

The brain plays an incredibly important role in all body movements. It sends signals to nerves through the spinal cord, which then carries out the impulse to the muscles.

Babies most commonly undergo brain damage at birth when they don’t have enough oxygen during pregnancy or during labor. Fetal hypoxia can kill cells within the brain tissue, and these cells rarely regenerate. If brain damage impacts regions within the baby’s brainstem, it can prevent signals from reaching the facial nerve.

Premature birth can also increase a baby’s risk for underdeveloped brains. While not necessarily “brain damage,” premature brains are more susceptible to injuries and may not always function properly. This can lead to abnormal signal interruptions that result in facial palsy or even cerebral palsy.

About Neonatal Brain Damage

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Neonatal Stroke

A neonatal stroke occurs due to an interruption in blood flow to the baby’s brain. Depending on the severity and duration, this blockage can damage the neural pathways between the brain and facial nerves. This can result in temporary muscle weakness or even full facial paralysis.

About Neonatal Strokes

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Neonatal Infections

Our bodies react to infections with inflammation. This is a process where white blood cells identify germs, trap them, and clear them out of our systems. Inflammation usually causes redness, swelling, heat, and sometimes pain in the affected area.

Neonatal infections like herpes simplex virus (HSV) or meningitis can cause inflammation and swelling in the baby’s facial nerve. This stops its ability to send signals that trigger facial movement, resulting in either weakness or full paralysis.

About Neonatal Infections

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Birth Trauma

Birth trauma refers to any injuries that happen to a baby from physical force. This can include excessive pushing, pulling, or twisting during the labor and delivery process.

One common cause of birth trauma is the misuse of delivery instruments like forceps and vacuum extractors. When doctors use excessive force with these tools, they risk injuring the baby’s head or face.

Other birth related head injuries like skull fractures or intracranial hemorrhages (brain bleeds) can also affect the facial nerve. Medical professionals can reduce the risk of these injuries by using extreme caution when applying force during labor.

About Traumatic Birth Injuries

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Additional factors linked to a heightened risk of facial palsy include:

• Abnormal fetal position or presentation
• Fetal macrosomia (large birth weight and size of the baby)
• Cephalopelvic disproportion (the mother’s pelvis being too small to deliver the baby’s head)

Healthcare providers should identify and plan for these risks during prenatal testing appointments with the mother. They should also stay attentive during delivery for complications like prolonged or arrested labor.

What Are Symptoms of Facial Paralysis?

Depending on the underlying cause, facial nerve palsy in newborns can present in various ways.

One of the first signs of facial palsy parents may notice is facial asymmetry. They may then notice the child cannot close their eyes, swallow, or produce tears.

Other common symptoms of facial paralysis include:

• Facial weakness or numbness
• Uncontrollable drooling
• Sensitivity to light and sound
• Lack of forehead movement
• Trouble breastfeeding
• Difficulty chewing
• Speech impairments later in life
• Inability to move one side of the face
• Reduced tear production, which can lead to corneal irritation

If you notice any of the above symptoms, contact a doctor who can evaluate whether your child has facial palsy.

How is Facial Palsy Diagnosed?

Due to the diverse array of symptoms, it can be challenging for medical professionals to diagnose facial palsy right away.

Determining whether a child has facial paralysis solely from observing symptoms alone is typically insufficient. A physician or specialist must conduct a physical examination to establish the extent of the child’s nerve damage.

Doctors will also likely perform a nerve conduction test. This test measures the speed, strength, and electrical activity of impulses travelling through a nerve. It works similarly to an electromyography (EMG) test, which measures electrical activity in the muscles.

The healthcare provider attaches electrodes (small metal plates) to the child’s face to assess the activity in the cranial nerve. They will send small electrical stimulation shocks to test the nerve’s ability to send that impulse.

Not all cases of facial paralysis stem from damage to the facial nerve. Doctors will sometimes have to run neuroimaging tests to see if a brain injury is causing the child’s facial weakness. These tests may include Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans or a Computed Tomography (CT) scan.

These tests, along with a thorough physical evaluation, can give doctors enough evidence to diagnose a child with facial palsy. Depending on the circumstances, doctors may give a more specialized diagnosis to the child’s paralysis. Common facial palsy diagnoses include Bell’s palsy and Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

How is Facial Palsy Treated?

In relatively minor cases of facial palsy, infants may experience recovery within the first four months of life. First-degree injuries do not typically require any additional treatment.

However, in approximately 5% of cases, facial nerve damage is permanent and requires extensive treatment. When a child's condition fails to improve without intervention, families may consider multiple treatment options.

Non-Surgical Treatments for Facial Palsy

The following are a few of the types of non-surgical treatments a family may seek:

• Botox injections and dermatologic fillers
• Acupuncture
• Electrical stimulation
• Corticosteroids (anti-inflammatory medication)
• Antiviral medication
• Facial Physical Therapy
• Speech Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Eyedrops and eyepatches

These treatments can be a great starting point for easing the symptoms of facial paralysis that won’t go away on its own. Healthcare providers should point families to these options before recommending more invasive surgical procedures.

Surgical Treatments for Facial Palsy

When the extent of the problem is much greater, a number of different surgical interventions can relieve pressure on the nerve. These types of surgeries can include:

Temporalis Tendon Transfer

If a facial nerve is injured, it may be possible to restore lost nerve function by transferring another nerve to the affected area. Temporalis tendon transfer is a relatively minimally invasive technique that is performed to help control chewing, lift a saggy or drooping mouth, and give an infant affected by facial paralysis the ability to smile. This procedure involves a surgeon connecting one end of a tendon in the jaw to a corner of the mouth.

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Gracilis Transfer

A doctor may recommend a Gracilis transfer in cases of long-term facial paralysis. In this procedure, the surgeon takes off a small piece of the gracilis muscle located in the upper inner thigh. They transplant it to the affected side of the face and blood vessels, keeping the original muscle and nerve alive. Gracilis transfer is a highly specialized procedure; depending on the patient's specific issues, they may require more than one surgery.

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Nerve Grafting

With nerve grafting, surgeons take nerves located in another part of the body, such as the neck or leg. They then take these nerves and connect them to the child’s paralyzed facial muscles. The procedure can restore lost nerve function, movement, sensation, and muscle control on the affected side of the face.

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A child with facial nerve palsy may experience vast improvements through therapeutic methods or surgery. Medical professionals should encourage intervention when the baby’s facial weakness or paralysis doesn’t improve within a month after birth.

Did Medical Malpractice Cause My Child’s Nerve Damage?

The emotional impact on a child living with facial nerve paralysis can be immense. The inability to express emotions or fully communicate feelings can have profound psychological repercussions on their self-esteem and social interactions.

Children with facial palsy often require support from family, friends, and healthcare professionals to navigate the difficulties they encounter.

The sad reality is that these sometimes-lifelong struggles can stem from preventable mistakes during childbirth. Medical professionals can cause or contribute to a child’s facial nerve paralysis at birth when they:

• Fail to intervene in cases where the baby has no oxygen, leading to brain damage at birth
• Neglect a maternal infection like active herpes simplex virus (HSV), leading to its transmission to the baby
• Fail to administer timely treatment for a neonatal infection like HSV or meningitis
• Use excessive force during delivery, resulting in birth trauma like a neonatal head injury

If a family believes medical negligence worsened a child’s facial paralysis, legal support may be an option. A specialized birth injury attorney can review the medical records and circumstances to assess whether a claim exists.

Families who have experienced the effects of birth injuries from negligent medical care deserve to know whether they were avoidable. Our top rated birth injury lawyers will help you find those answers and obtain the necessary funds to secure treatment.

Our National Birth Injury team will thoroughly investigate the facts, holding responsible parties accountable by pursuing medical malpractice claims.

What is the Statute of Limitations in a Birth Injury Case?

A statute of limitations (SOL) is a law that sets a time limit on how long an injured person has to file a lawsuit after an accident.

It is essential to understand that statutes of limitations vary based on the case and the state where you file. For instance, the deadline for birth injury claims is typically different from other claims, such as injury to private property.

Generally, the clock starts ticking on the date the injury occurred. However, there are exceptions to this rule. In some cases, the statute of limitations starts when a person discovers or reasonably should have discovered an injury. When dealing with government agencies, SOLs can become even more complex.

For example, if the party that injured you was:

• A federal employee
• Employed by a military hospital, Veterans Administration facility, or a federally funded medical entity

You may need to file a birth injury claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). In FTCA cases, claimants must go through certain administrative procedures before filing a lawsuit. In some states, you may have less time to give notice if:

• The negligent party was a local or state government hospital
• The doctors and medical providers are employees of a governmental entity

If you file your case outside of the statute of limitations, the court will typically dismiss it. This means you will not be eligible to recover compensation for you or your child’s injuries.

Determining when a statute of limitations begins on your case can be tricky. Our birth injury lawyers can help inform you of all the important filing cutoff dates in your state. We will help your family seek justice and compensation for preventable injuries to you or your baby.

How Can Our Birth Injury Attorneys Help?

Physicians have a duty to protect a child from injuries like facial nerve paralysis. Our birth injury lawyers can identify medical malpractice and help you secure compensation to afford your child’s medical expenses. However, it first takes an expert review of the facts to determine whether medical professionals made preventable errors.

Our Process

Our team of committed attorneys, nurses and paraprofessionals works to answer these questions and seek compensation. We use our detailed medical negligence case review process to assess your potential birth injury case.

We start by learning more about your pregnancy by gathering records to determine what happened before and during your delivery. This includes evaluating prenatal testing procedures and any action taken during childbirth.

We will call in skilled medical experts who review your records and provide insight into where medical professionals went wrong. If we feel medical negligence caused your baby’s nerve damage and resulting conditions, we contact you to discuss further. We will help your family seek justice and compensation for preventable injuries by proving medical negligence occurred.

At no point in our legal intake process will we ask you to pay anything. The medical review of your case and the consultation are free. We only receive payment once you do. The sooner you reach out, the sooner we can investigate your case and gather the evidence to support your claim.

We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you will not pay any legal fees until we win your case. We do not pursue any medical malpractice cases unless we fully believe we can win.

Contact us today to schedule your free consultation by calling our toll-free line at (888) 987-0005. You can also reach us by filling out our online request form.