Information You Need to Know About Birth Injury Negligence

The birth of a child should be one of the most magical times of someone’s life. From finding out about the pregnancy until the moment the baby arrives, the standard of care should be at its highest. This includes scans, screenings, check-ups and having the correct professionals around you through pregnancy and labour.

Sadly when the standard of care and treatment fails, the impact to yourself, baby and family can be devastating. If you have been let down due to birth injury negligence, Our specialist solicitors can help you fight for the justice you deserve and claim compensation for not just the injury caused but for any additional support and treatment required in the future.

What is Birth Injury Negligence?

A birth injury can occur in two different ways, childbirth injuries to mother or childbirth injuries to baby. Unfortunately there are many different types of injuries, with some causing lifelong consequences because of NHS negligence.

Due to the complexity of some injuries, it may take years for signs to show the need of a diagnosis, for example some brain injuries cannot be diagnosed until the child is older. Our specialist birth injury solicitors can help with advice and guide you through your no win no fee claim for compensation.

Medical negligence childbirth should be avoidable due to the amount of checks, scans and procedures put in place throughout pregnancy and into labour. However, lack of expertise, staff shortages, incorrect or rushed procedures have resulted in oxygen deprivation, causing cerebral palsy in babies uk.

What are Childbirth Injuries to Mother?

Physical injury to the mother during childbirth can sometimes be part of the natural process, but when this is caused by NHS negligence, it is often the result of midwives, doctors or nurses not preparing and monitoring the birth correctly. Sometimes the effects of the birth injury negligence can pass and heal over time but our birth injury solicitors can help when these injuries are more severe. These injuries can often leave not just physical scars but mental trauma as well such as PTSD. Our expert lawyers can help you claim no win no fee against the NHS.

Vaginal Tears, These are very common during natural childbirth due to the vagina not stretching enough during labour. However, if the birth is not monitored correctly, this can result in a severe perineal tear requiring stitches or even surgical repair.

Retained Placenta, Once labour is complete, a midwife, nurse or doctor will examine the mother to make sure all placenta has passed, sometimes additional procedures are required to make sure all placenta has left the body. When these examinations are not carried out correctly, the effects to mothers health can be extremely serious. Retained placenta results in a high number of birth injury claims due to severe infections such as septicemia, internal hemorrhaging and even the need of surgery.

Hemorrhaging, Bleeding during and after childbirth is natural, however this can become abnormal and life threatening if not monitored correctly. Large blood loss during or after birth (Post-partum Haemorrhage (PPH)) can lead to the need of iron or blood transfusions.

There are many different types of injuries a mother may suffer during childbirth, but when these are caused by birth injury negligence, the sometimes life long effects can be traumatic and can also lead to PTSD. If you have suffered due to NHS negligence you may be entitled to no win no fee birth injury compensation.

We can provide you with the support you need when suing the NHS with guidance from a specialist childbirth injury lawyer.

Injuries to Baby

The moments during labour are crucial to making sure your baby is born without distress or injury. Most childbirth passes without incident, but when things go wrong due to medical negligence childbirth, injuries can be life changing.

When birth injury negligence occurs, sometimes the signs of injury may not present themselves until the child grows and development issues are diagnosed. When making a claim for birth injury compensation, our expert solicitors will help you with not just the injuries currently being treated but any future treatment or care required.

The most common types of birth injury claims are

• Erb’s Palsy
• Brain injury due to lack of oxygen
• Hip dysplasia
• Shoulder dystocia
• Vision conditions and even blindness due to oxygen starvation
• Stillbirth
• Hearing issues including deafness
• Cerebral Palsy

Can I Make a Claim?

If you feel you have been let down and have suffered negligence at the hands of medical professionals you are entitled to make a claim for compensation for yourself or your child. Our specialist solicitors have years of experience and can help you in making a no win no fee claim against the NHS.

Standards in care, especially during childbirth should be excellent so if mother or baby have been a victim of negligence they are entitled to make a claim.

Due to the severity of injuries which can be sustained during childbirth, often these can have life changing implications, not just for mother or baby but for the whole family. When suing the NHS for negligence, our expert lawyers will help to not just focus on what has gone wrong now but what will be needed in the future. For example:

• Future treatment costs
• Funding for private care and living costs
• Specialist equipment
• Housing adaptation to meet your child’s needs
• Access to specialist therapists
• Loss of earnings

As well as the physical aspect, the traumatic time can sadly also result in PTSD. Making a claim can also help with the cost of counselling and support you through the difficult time.

How Much Can I Claim?

Due to the variation in complexity of birth injury negligence, the amount you could receive varies on a case by case basis, with cerebral palsy cases often paying out in millions and can result in not just a lump sum but also payments as the child grows for their care and treatment. This is where our specialist solicitors will help you through a birth injury compensation calculator to assess your personal circumstances. As well as claiming for the negligence occurred you are also entitled to claim for expenses such as loss of earnings, the cost of care, future treatments and medical bills. Talk to our medical negligence experts today to see how you can claim.

Is There a Time Frame to Make a Claim for Medical Negligence?

When making a claim for medical negligence there is normally a limitation period of three years for anyone over the age of 18. This means a claim must be started within three years from the date the negligence happened.

However there are exceptions, especially when the claim is in regards to child birth negligence:

Children

With claims regarding children, the three year limitation period does not start until the child turns 18, meaning they have until their 21st birthday to make a claim for compensation. When making a compensation claim for childbirth negligence, a parent, legal guardian or close relative can claim on the child’s behalf.

Mental Capacity

The three year limitation period does not apply if the victim of medical negligence has suffered a brain injury or does not have the mental capacity to bring a claim forward themselves and does not start until mental capacity is regained.

In such cases a ‘Litigation Friend’ can make a claim on behalf of the injured party. When mental capacity will never be regained an expert medical negligence solicitor can help you make a claim.

Date of Knowledge

In certain cases the victim may not be aware of injury caused when the negligence happened. This must be as a result of the negligence and the injury must be significant.

An example of this would be an internal injury caused during an emergency cesarean which is missed by the medical professionals. It is only when the patient cannot conceive years down the line that scans/tests are taken and the negligent injury is brought to light. The victim of negligence would then have three years from this date to make a claim as the date of knowledge.

The expert lawyers will discuss this with you and answer any questions you may have.

No Win No Fee Birth Injury Claim

When making a claim, our specialist solicitors will provide representation on a No Win No Fee basis meaning there is no cost to you if the claim is unsuccessful, meaning there is no extra stress or cost in claiming what you are entitled to when suing the NHS.

How We Can Help

Our solicitors have decades of experience specialising in birth injury negligence and understand how difficult and traumatic a time this can be for all members of the family. That’s why your case will be handled with the care and compassion you deserve.

From listening to what has happened through a no obligation assessment, we can make the first step of your claim process and guide you through what will happen next and how we can help.

If you have been the victim of birth injury negligence, claim no win no fee against the NHS by completing our claim assessment form or call 0800 999 3372