Sadly, for some parents, the joy of a new baby’s arrival can be overshadowed by birth injury-related medical negligence because health professionals made mistakes resulting in harm to the mother or baby.

Whilst the vast majority of births go to plan, on occasion things do go wrong. It is important to parents that when medical negligence occurs it is acknowledged by health professionals and that compensation is paid to help the family.

If you or your child sustained a birth-related injury then our expert medical negligence solicitors can help.

Free Initial Discussion

For no-obligation advice and information, call our specialist medical negligence solicitors today on 01642 252 828 or use our contact form and we will call you back.

Birth Injury Specialists

No one likes to be hyper-critical about the medical care they receive and, in most cases, the birth of a baby means pregnancy and birth-related medical concerns melt away. However, if a mother or baby experienced maternity or health care that fell below the reasonable standard for a health professional, then the medical negligence requires investigation.

Our specialist team provides sensitive and sympathetic birth injury legal advice so you understand whether you have a potential claim and the claim process to enable you to make the right decisions for your family.

Our medical negligence lawyers understand that the decision to start medical negligence proceedings involves careful thought. We will not rush you into making a decision and we will make sure that you have the information and support you need to make an informed choice about whether or not to pursue compensation for a birth-related injury.

Birth Injury Claims

Birth injury claims can be made against:

• The NHS
• Private hospitals and clinics
• Midwives and doctors involved in prenatal care and birth

When it comes to birth injury claims, medical negligence issues can occur long before the delivery room. Examples include:

• Failure to recognise that pregnancy is a high risk to the mother or baby
• Not conducting the appropriate scans or blood tests during pregnancy
• Not inducing a birth when the mother or baby is at risk
• Not carrying out a C-section
• Failing to plan for premature delivery despite known risks   
• Birth delays resulting in the baby being oxygen deprived
• Failure to recognise pre-eclampsia or other medical conditions, such as pregnancy-related diabetes

Birth Injury Complications

Birth-related medical negligence can result in:

• Streptococcus and other infections
• Meningitis
• Sepsis
• Brain injury
• Cerebral palsy
• Learning difficulties
• Health problems associated with premature births, such as sight or hearing loss
• Stillbirth and neonatal deaths
• Wrongful births

For the mother, birth injury medical negligence can result in a wide range of issues ranging from perineal tear and episiotomy injuries to life-threatening C-section complications.

Birth Injury Time Limits

The time limits to bring a birth injury claim depend on whether you are the mother or bringing a claim on behalf of a child.

A mother normally has 3 years to make a compensation claim from the date she realised that she sustained a birth-related injury due to medical negligence.

For a claim made on behalf of a birth-injured child, the 3-year deadline to start a claim begins when the child reaches the age of 18. This deadline does not apply if a child lacks mental capacity as there is no time limit in those circumstances. 

Birth Injury Compensation

The amount of compensation you can claim depends on the severity of the medical negligence, the nature of the injuries, and the extent of the impact on the mother or baby. 

With over 25 years of experience in handling medical negligence claims, our team understands the importance of investigating and fully assessing the ongoing impact of medical negligence on your family. We have achieved substantial compensation for families to help cover:

• Pain and suffering
• Care needs for mother or baby, including long-term needs
• Therapy and treatment costs
• Equipment, such as wheelchairs, or specialist beds
• Home adaptations or assistance with the cost of moving to an adapted home
• Travel costs for attendance at appointments and therapy sessions
• Loss of earnings and potential loss of future earnings
• Compensation for stillbirths and neonatal death

We recognise that no amount of compensation truly compensates you for a birth injury or the loss of a child but we fight hard to achieve a level of compensation to help meet the extra challenges of life after a birth injury.

How Macks Can Help

We will thoroughly explore your case and determine the best course of action that is tailored to your specific needs.

We will discuss the funding arrangement that best suits your case and provide you with efficient, practical advice.

Contact us

For more information about making a claim, you can call us on 01642 843 667; alternatively, complete our online contact form and one of our solicitors will be in touch.