Birth injury Claims

Birth injury claims

We support families who have suffered substandard care during birth, resulting in injury or fatality.

Our specialist teams understand the trauma families face when a child dies or is injured during birth or shortly after. In some cases tragedies are unavoidable, but in others they are as a result of failures in care.

We support families with claims for compensation where care has been substandard to enable them to access the future care and support they need. Families we help are also often motivated to make a birth injury claim to highlight what went wrong in their case, and reduce the chance of it happening to other people.

As well as offering assistance when children have been harmed during birth we help in cases where mums have suffered harm or trauma during childbirth or pregnancy.

A successful claim can unlock help from many sources to support you and your child to have the best possible future. Speak to one of our experienced birth injury lawyers today for a free, confidential discussion: Contact us.

When you may need a birth injury solicitor

A specialist solicitor has expert knowledge around the situations that may arise out of medical negligence during birth and the long term needs your child may have as a result.

Birth injury claims can arise due to many complications and conditions. They may include:

• Broken bones
• Cases of cerebral palsy
• Delays in delivery
• Group B streptococcus
• Haemorrhage or excessive bleeding
• Perinatal asphyxia (also known as neonatal or birth asphyxia) / deprivation of oxygen
• Preeclampsia
• Ruptured placenta
• Shoulder dystocia
• Stillbirth & neonatal death
• Umbilical cord issues
• Wrongful births as a result of failures to spot disabilities

Getting the help you need after negligence during childbirth

Injured children’s needs can be particularly complex, as some symptoms of their injury may not become apparent until later in life, especially if a brain injury has occurred.

It is therefore important to find experienced birth injury solicitors who can fully assess the extent of the damage – using expert evidence where appropriate – to ensure that the appropriate level of compensation is secured.

To find out more about the process of making a birth injury claim and whether you may have a case, do contact us for some free initial advice and guidance.

We also have a client guide to birth injury claims.

How do I know if I have a birth injury claim?

If your child has an unexpected injury or illness at birth, if your labour seemed chaotic or something during the birth of your child did not feel right to you, it’s important to speak to someone about your concerns. In some cases these may be warning signs that correct procedures were not followed.

Delays in delivery can result in a brain injury, including the development of Cerebral Palsy, and errors when dealing with shoulder dystocia may lead to Erb’s Palsy. These are just two of a wide variety of issues that can sometimes be the result of failures in care.

Birth injury law is complex, and it is important to choose a legal team experienced in handling birth medical negligence cases. This will ensure valid claims are not overlooked and if compensation is pursued you receive damages that meet the needs of you and your child.

For a successful negligence claim, it must be proven or accepted that a care provider, nurse, midwife or doctor did not act in a way that accords with generally accepted medical practice.

Our guide to birth injury claims gives further detail.

Could my child’s birth injury be the result of negligence?

Whilst the UK is one of the safest places to give birth, avoidable mistakes and errors do occur and lead to harm to babies.

The 2020 publication of the Royal College of Obstetrician and Gynaecologists ‘Each Baby Counts’ report found that ‘there are still too many avoidable stillbirths, baby deaths and brain injuries that occur during term labour in the UK’.

About 1,000 babies every year are stillborn, die within seven days of birth or suffer brain injury due to something going wrong during labour.

The most common factors where different care may have led to a different outcome included:

• lack of timely recognition of women and babies at risk
• communication problems
• training and education issues
• human factors
• inadequacies related to the monitoring of the baby’s well-being during labour

If you fear your baby may have been harmed due to negligence, making a complaint can help draw attention to the issue and demonstrate what needs to change to avoid others suffering in the same way.

Do get in touch for an informal chat and guidance.

How long does a birth injury claim take to settle?

Birth injury claims, especially where the harm is complex and severe, can take five years or more to resolve in some cases, but interim financial support may be available.

It’s vital not to rush cases as the full extent of a child’s needs and injury are often not evident straightaway.

The final settlement will be decided on the basis of medical and clinician reports regarding what needs your child may have in the future as a result of the birth injury suffered. Reports may also be needed to assess to what extent the birth injury or negligence led to your child’s condition or disability.

A specialist and supportive solicitor will do everything possible to ease the burden and stress for you, understanding that you have enough to cope with already.

In cases where negligence is accepted by the NHS or care provider, it may be possible to get interim payments to help you meet the needs of your child until a full and final settlement is agreed.

See our birth injuries guide for more details.

How much compensation will I receive for a birth injury claim?

Substantial payments of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of pounds may be payable in cases of birth injury, depending on the level of harm suffered and level of ongoing need your child has.

Compensation claims will be broken down into two parts – general damages and special damages. Special damages are unique to each case and will usually be the more substantial element of a claim. It is down to solicitors to recruit experts who can demonstrate the level of need likely to be imposed by an injury and to show and claim for the costs of that care, treatment and specialist equipment.

Specialist solicitors understand the complexities of birth injury claims and are able to ensure all things are considered to maximise claims in order to cover future care needs and allow you to access the best treatment and support for your child.

General damages, which form the other part of a claim total, are based on guideline amounts.

In cases of very severe brain injury where there is need for long term full time nursing care and little evidence of response to environment, probably including cases of quadriplegic cerebral palsy causing severe cognitive and physical disabilities, general damages may be between £264,650 and £379,100. Special damages for a brain-injured child often amount to millions of pounds.