And with injured newborns come lawsuits. The American Medical Association estimates that on any given day there are 125,000 lawsuits against doctors. Although most of these cases will be dropped, it costs doctors as much as $90,000 to defend their cases, even if they win the suit.

OB/GYNs are at higher risk for lawsuits in an aggregate sense, because the statute of limitations for bringing a lawsuit is 24 years of age. According to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, these doctors have an average of 2.6 claims filed against them during their career.

Last year, one in two members of ACOG, which has a membership of 46,000, reported having been involved in a claim in the last four years.

The simulator could reduce the number of injuries in the delivery room, and by extension, reduce the number of lawsuits. But Gurewitsch is quick to point out simply limiting doctor's liability wasn't a factor in creating the device.

"Although untoward outcomes are obviously a source for litigation against obstetricians, preventing lawsuits is not our goal," says Gurewitsch.

Research and training using the simulator continues to take place at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Researchers are working with residents on how to perform one of several maneuvers to manipulate the position of either the mother or the baby when shoulder dystocia occurs.

The Hopkins researchers found that turning the baby so its spine faces the mother's belly -- a technique known as anterior Rubin's manoeuvre -- requires less force than either turning the baby so its spine faces the mother's spine, or moving the mother's legs back to try to reduce the force of the baby's shoulders against the mother's pelvis.

"If we could prevent even one permanent injury, that would be the wherewithal we would need," says Allen. 'Our hope is to have the next generation of (obstetricians) to be more adroit at solving this difficult clinical problem."