What are Maternity Negligence Claims?

If you have experienced maternity negligence, you may be eligible for compensation

In most cases, pregnancy and childbirth go smoothly with no problems as both mother and baby receive adequate care to ensure that the nine-month journey ends in delight and happiness for the mother and entire family.

However, there have been cases of medical negligence during childbirth which happen from time to time which can lead to either the baby or the mum sustaining avoidable injuries of varying degrees. While some of these injuries are temporary with the affected person recovering fully from them, some are life-changing, debilitating and permanent.

In such cases, the injured person does not have to suffer unnecessarily without any form of support or compensation for their injury. This is where our maternity negligence solicitors come in. If you or your baby has suffered complications, injuries, harm or trauma as a result of negligent actions from your healthcare provider which could have been well avoided, you may have an NHS maternity negligence claim to make.

All you have to do is to get in touch with our expert birth negligence claims solicitors who will be happy to discuss your situation and see if you are eligible to make birth injury claims in the UK.

What Can Lead To Maternity Negligence Claims?

The period of pregnancy is an exciting but also critical time for families. It is expected that both mother and child will come out of it safe and sound but when this does not happen because of negligent care from the doctors or midwives, maternity negligence claims can be made.

Medical professionals owe a duty of care to expectant mothers under their care and should provide them with the right standard of care as expected from them to ensure that both mother and child are not harmed in any way. But mistakes made during the antenatal period, or during childbirth can lead to catastrophic effects for the family including death of the baby and permanent injury or disability for the mother.

Here are some the negligent actions which may lead to maternity claims;

• Misdiagnosis of an antenatal infection
• Failure to detect serious abnormalities of the unborn baby
• Failed sterilisation procedure
• Failures to detect or delays in detecting an ectopic pregnancy
• Misdiagnosed miscarriage
• Failure to manage pre-eclampsia
• Infection after a C-section or organ damage during C-section
• Perineal tears
• Poorly performed episiotomies or mistakes in suturing them
• Excessive haemorrhage / postpartum haemorrhage
• Failure to deliver the placenta / retained placenta
• Vesico-vaginal fistulas leading to incontinence
• Birth defects and wrongful birth due to mismanagement of pregnancy
• Bladder and bowel damage to the mother as a result of mismanaged labour
• Anaesthesia or epidural failures
• Surgical errors including retained surgical instruments or swabs in caesareans
• Avoidable uterine rupture
• Serious injury to the baby such brain damage, nerve damage or paralysis as a result of poorly managed labour
• Death of mother during childbirth and stillbirth
• Birth injuries to babies (Erb’s palsy syndrome, cerebral palsy syndrome)

Proving Your Maternity Negligence Claim

For you to successfully prove your birth injury compensation claims, you should be able to establish the following;

• Prove that your doctor or the midwife had a responsibility to care for you. This is known as duty of care.
• Establish that your healthcare provider failed in that duty of care.
• Show that the injury you suffered was directly as a result of the breach of duty of care
• Give evidence of damages you have suffered or incurred as a result of the injury suffered.

There are certain documents which can help strengthen your claim and increase your chances of having a successful birth negligence claim. These include;

• Detailed statement of the events that transpired
• Medical test results including scans
• Doctor’s report
• Witness statements (from family or close friends)
• Proof of financial losses including past, present and estimated future losses
• Photographs where applicable
• Medical Report from an independent medical expert

During our free consultation session, our solicitors will further explain to you how the medical claims process works. We are also willing to help you make available every vital piece of evidence as we leave no stone unturned to ensure that you get a deserved negligence compensation for your suffering.

Your NHS compensation payouts are determined by certain factors which include the following;

• Type of injury sustained
• Severity of the injury
• what you have suffered as a result of the injury
• Out of pocket expenses and other Financial losses
• Prognosis going forward
• Travel expenses for further medical appointments and treatment
• Costs of rehabilitation and therapy
• Cost of hiring caregivers
• Costs of accommodation adjustments

Get Started With Your No Win No Fee Claim

Reach out to our no win no fee medical negligence claims solicitors to begin your claims without any delay. You can contact us via our helplines at 0800 999 3372 to get started. We are here to stand by you!