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Birth Injury Claims
Hundreds of thousands of babies are born each year in the UK and it should rightly be an uplifting and incredible time. However, if the correct care isn’t given then it can be very traumatising and, in some cases, can lead to a lifetime of health problems for the child; they may even require around-the-clock care. If you or your child has suffered a birth injury, our specialist lawyers can help you get the answers and compensation you need and the support you deserve.
Making a Birth Injury Claim
Childbirth should be overseen and conducted properly by the right professionals. You are placing your trust in their hands. When there is a failure by these professionals to carry out their duty, you could have a birth injury claim. If you or your baby has suffered as a result of either poor care during pregnancy or errors made during the birth, then Patient Claim Line is here to help by:
- Talking to you and explaining if you have a birth injury claim during a completely free and informal chat.
- Explaining what amount of compensation you could be entitled to
- Talking you through the evidence you will need to provide
- Not taking a single penny until we’ve won your case, using our No Win No Fee agreement.
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What is a birth injury claim?
During pregnancy, or in childbirth, complications can lead to injury or trauma for the mother, baby or both. Some of these complications may be unavoidable despite medical professionals doing everything they could. However, sometimes birth injury can occur because the care you received from a doctor or midwife fell below an acceptable standard. If you or your baby were injured during childbirth because of mistakes made by your carers, then you may be entitled to make a birth injury claim.
You can also find help and guidance to support you through what can be a devastating time from groups like The Birth Trauma Association.
Types of birth injury claims
We see a varied number of birth injury claims. Sometimes, the hospital may not have admitted something went wrong, or claimed that it’s ‘just one of those things’, or ‘a normal risk of birth.’ It is our job to prove this is not the case and that birth injury was caused by medical negligence. The most common types of birth injury we help clients with include:
- Injuries to the mother during birth
- Injuries to mother or baby following use of forceps
- Injuries to the child during birth, for example, Cerebral Palsy or Erb’s Palsy
- Misdiagnosis of pre–existing conditions
- Injuries received after birth as the result of negligence
- Midwife negligence claims
The circumstances and details surrounding each type of claim will differ. Which is why it’s best to use a specialist medical negligence solicitor who understands the exact type of birth injury negligence that occurred.
Miscarriage and stillbirth
Some of the most traumatic and devastating birth injury claims we take on are those where medical negligence has led to miscarriage or stillbirth. There may have been a lack of proper screening during pregnancy or a failure to act quickly enough during birth. Pursuing a claim for miscarriage or stillbirth negligence is about so much more than compensation, and can help you get the answers you need. You may have a case if you experienced any of the following during your pregnancy or the birth itself:
- A lack of regular tests and check ups
- Failure to treat symptoms in a timely manner
- Test results being incorrectly diagnosed
- Failing to refer you to a consultant when necessary
It would need to be shown that these failings had a direct and definite impact on the outcome of your pregnancy resulting in miscarriage or stillbirth.
Failed contraception or sterilisation
Our dedicated legal experts have first-hand experience handling contraception and sterilisation failure claims where suspected negligence is at fault. It is true to say that all forms of contraception carry a small percentage of risk and failure, but if you believe your experience was down to a breach in medical duty, we’re here to support you. You may be looking to make a claim because:
- You believe you have experienced a negligent sterilisation procedure
- You were not sufficiently warned about the side effects of oral contraception
- An unwanted pregnancy has led to physical and emotional stress
- You have experienced Injectable hormone complications
- You have experienced complications relating to intrauterine devices
As pregnancy and birth negligence experts, our legal team can advise you on the necessary route forward when looking into a compensation claim for contraception and sterilisation failure.
Failed abortion claims
Our legal experts understand that a failed abortion procedure can be incredibly distressing for all concerned. Working with a specialist medical negligence law firm will place you in the strongest position going forward. We can help you with failed abortion procedures including:
- Negligent abortion causing injury to the mother such as haemorrhage or damage to the womb or cervix
- A complete failure from the abortion procedure
- Crucial information from the medical team not being passed on to the patient
- Negligence from the medical team concerning the scan and whether the procedure has been successful
- A wrongful birth due to serious medical errors
When making a claim for a failed abortion, we not only take into account the suffering and distress caused to you, but to your dependents and the effect the birth will have on them going forward.
What can I expect when making a birth injury claim?
Looking into making a claim may be the last thing on your mind if your baby has suffered a birth injury, but making a compensation claim with the right team behind you can help with all of this and make life a lot easier. Your child may require extensive care and you and your family or friends may be left to provide that care. You may need equipment or treatment that will help your child, but that may be expensive, especially if, as is often the case, you or your partner has had to give up work. Compensation for birth injuries can help with:
- Any private care and treatment costs
- The cost to friends and family who have helped you
- Specialist equipment including adaptations to your home or car
- Rehabilitation costs and ongoing care costs
- Loss of earnings, now and in the future
- Pain, suffering and emotional distress
Final compensation figures will vary but can reach millions of pounds for cases where a baby has life limiting injuries such as Cerebral Palsy.
Why choose Patient Claim Line for your birth injury claim?
Patient Claim Line has access to one of the leading medical negligence teams in the UK and will be able to tell you very quickly whether they think you have a case. They have a specialist team that deals with birth injury cases. They have the knowledge and experience to fully investigate your case and, if negligence has occurred, they will ensure that any compensation takes into account any initial after care as well as the impact on yours and your baby’s future.
We have over 100 solicitors and over 30 years of experience helping people just like you.
No Win No Fee Birth Injury Claims
The very last thing you need to worry about when making a birth injury claim is paying for legal help. When you use Patient Claim Line, you will sign a No Win No Fee agreement. This means you do not have to pay a penny up front. If you do not win your case, you still do not have to pay anything. Only when you win will we take a pre-agreed sum. It costs you nothing to find out if you have a case, and all our claims are dealt with by specialist Medical Lawyers who work hard to help you through the whole claims process.
If you have suffered perineal tears during childbirth (between 2020 – 2022) and were not provided the appropriate aftercare at Pinderfields Hospital, we are here to help.
Why Choose Patient Claim Line for your Birth Injury Claim?
Not just lawyers — medical negligence experts
Patient Claim Line was established in 2014 and consists of a team of medical lawyers specialising in medical negligence and misdiagnosis claims.
At Patient Claim Line we have more than 100 solicitors with combined experience of over 400 years and they will work on your behalf to achieve the best result possible for you.
It’s not enough to use a solicitor who sometimes covers medical negligence. You need someone who knows this area through and through. That is what the solicitors here at Patient Claim Line do. They deal exclusively in this area of law and are experts in the field.
Frequently asked questions about Birth Injury Claims
Our expert legal team answer your questions about making a Birth Injury Claim
Meet our medical negligence team
Peter Rigby
Director of Medical Negligence
Christian Beadell
Partner, Head of Strategy and Legal Operations
Francesca Paul
Associate Solicitor
Sion Wynne
Senior Solicitor
Case Study
Sarah's Story
"Now we have peace of mind"
My husband, Nick, went back and forth to the doctors for a long time and tried everything the doctor recommended. But his illness got worse, to the point that he was in agony.
In the end we got so desperate that we asked for a referral. The doctor was reluctant, so we had to consult a private hospital. That’s when we found out there was a tumour. It took years from the onset of his illness to finally start cancer treatment.
He used to be a man with a lot to live for, but in the end he was in so much pain that he withdrew from the family. He became angry that nobody had helped him sooner, and the legal team were able to give him the validation that he was desperately seeking. The NHS confirmed if they had done more, Nick would still be alive today.
