No win, no fee childbirth negligence compensation claims
You can be represented by a highly-experienced childbirth negligence lawyer at no upfront cost to you. Under our No Win No Fee agreement you only pay a pre-agreed percentage of the compensation awarded if your case is successful.
Childbirth negligence claims
Negligent care during birth can have a lifelong impact on mothers, babies and their families.
Maternity negligence essentially means mistakes made by health professionals which should not happen.
Common mistakes seen by our team include maternity staff failing to act upon reduced foetal movements and failure to take appropriate action when a mother’s blood pressure has been at dangerous levels.
When errors happen, families have questions and deserve full answers. If avoidable errors have been the cause, they are also entitled to compensation and support.
Specialists in childbirth claims
Our dedicated medical negligence team have vast experience, ensuring your case reflects the severity of the situation and the support you and your family need. They will:
- Provide a compassionate and understanding service tailored to your situation.
- Help you gain access to support services to make the best possible recovery following a childbirth injury or loss.
- Seek interim compensation payments where possible for medical equipment, rehabilitation, surgery, accommodation or assisted care.
- Help you plan for any long-term care needs required for you or your child to support independent living.
What type of injuries are sustained during birth?
The following are a list of injuries that a mother or child could sustain during childbirth:
- Vaginal tears
- Wrongly performed Episiotomies
- Mistakes in surgically suturing tears or an Episiotomy
- Fissures
- Mistakes in caesarean procedures (e.g. damage to organs)
- Retained swabs
- Anaesthetic errors
- Fractures to the skull, legs, arm, shoulder or collarbone of baby
- Cuts and scars to baby
- Cerebral Palsy
- Erb’s Palsy or Brachial Plexus Injuries caused when the baby becomes stuck in the birth canal.
Birth injuries can also occur to the mother, which include:
- Uterine inversion
- Uterine rupture
- Pelvic organ prolapse
- Postpartum haemorrhage
- Maternal diabetes or gestational diabetes
- Errors in managing pre-eclampsia
- Placental abruption
- Wrongful birth cases, where a mother would have terminated her pregnancy had she known about a birth defect rather than give birth to a child with severe physical or mental disabilities
Claims may also be possible because of complications after the birth, which include:
- Infant mortality – If a baby is born alive, but tragically passes away post birth
- Congenital Hip Dysplasia – If left undiagnosed and untreated it may affect joint health and development
- Stillbirth – Where your baby is born dead after 24 weeks or more
How do I know if I can make a childbirth negligence claim?
Our team of expert childbirth injury solicitors have vast experience of dealing with complex birth injury claims.
The following four-step process is used by us when assessing whether you can make a birth trauma claim or birth error claim.
- We can analyse medical records, work out what went wrong and what could have been done to prevent any injuries and conditions from occurring.
- We can then arrange for an independent medical examination to determine whether a mother or child’s injuries could have been prevented – had the proper care and attention been given.
- If the treatment received is found to be negligent, you are entitled to claim compensation for the suffering and hardship you experienced,
- You may be eligible for further support depending on the nature of either your or your child’s condition.
Whilst we understand that no amount of money can truly compensate this situation, it can provide crucial financial support that helps you recoup any funds you may be owed, such as lost earnings or support costs.
It can also help you access any additional ongoing care, therapy and special equipment that a mother or child may require.
How do I know if I can make a childbirth negligence claim?
Mistakes which can lead to childbirth claims:
- Failure to carry out appropriate tests during pregnancy.
- Misinterpretation of scans, leading to an incorrect diagnosis / treatment.
- Failure to act upon reduced baby movements during pregnancy.
- Failure to act when a mother’s blood pressure reaches dangerous levels.
- Failure to carry out cesarean births when signs point to potential harm.
- Errors during delivery causing injury, such as use of forceps or ventouse.
Hospital admits causing stillbirth of baby boy as midwives stopped monitoring heart rate and missed danger signs
A woman whose baby was stillborn due to mistakes midwives made during labour says she was ‘appalled’ by the lack of compassion shown – telling how she spiralled into depression and how the pain of losing her first child will never fade. Charlotte Warner, of Streatham, south London, was just 23 when she lost her […]
Maternity hospital apologises to mother of stillborn child for substandard care and agrees compensation
A hospital has apologised and agreed to pay compensation to a mother who lost her baby daughter at 36 weeks. A breakdown in communications and other failures led to the stillbirth at Birmingham Women’s Hospital which has now admitted mistakes were made. Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust said it was “extremely sorry” for the […]
Parliamentary Inquiry: Zahra’s Birth Trauma Experience
Zahra was one of more than 20 clients of Hudgell Solicitors to experience birth trauma and submit a statement to the Parliamentary Birth Trauma Inquiry, describing her own experience, and the impact it had on her. Zahra said: I experienced a prolonged labour and should have had an emergency caesarean section to deliver my baby. […]
Parliamentary Inquiry: Beata’s Birth Trauma Experience
Beata was one of more than 20 clients of Hudgell Solicitors to submit a statement to the Parliamentary Birth Trauma Inquiry, describing her own experience, and the impact it had on her. Beata said: I lost my baby at full term despite having been to the hospital on many occasions with concerns due to continuing, […]
£2.4m interim damages award is ‘life-changing’ for severely disabled 12-year-old as family can finally buy home they need
A High Court Judge’s ruling to award £2.4m interim damages to a severely disabled 12-year-old has been hailed as a ‘life-changing’ decision for the girl and her family following a struggle to find suitable accommodation. The Claimant sustained a hypoxic brain injury due to errors made during her birth, leaving her suffering from quadriplegic cerebral […]
How to make a childbirth claim
Make a claim in six easy steps
Free Initial Advice
Call us, request a callback or complete our online claim form and we will assess whether we think you have a claim.
Funding
We will help you to decide how best to fund your claim. Usually, we will be able to offer you a No win, No fee agreement.
Obtain Medical Records & Medical Reports
We will request copies of your medical records and instruct appropriate medical experts to prepare reports confirming whether your care was negligent and how this caused you injury.
Letter Of Claim
We will send a letter to your healthcare provider with details of your claim, setting out why we think your case was negligent and how this caused you injury.
Prepare Claim Valuation
We will put together a schedule of loss setting out the losses you have incurred and the extent of the injuries you have sustained.
Negotiate Settlement
We will send all the evidence to your opponent inviting their settlement proposals. If we cannot agree a reasonable settlement, we will prepare court proceedings.
Start your claim today
Feel free to give us a call or begin your claim online
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FAQs
What are the common causes of childbirth injuries?
Each year in the UK there are around:
- 859 severe brain injuries.
- 165 early neonatal deaths.
- 121 intrapartum stillbirths.
Although healthcare professionals aim to ensure you and your baby are safe throughout delivery, there are incidents in which a lack of monitoring or failure to carry out routine procedures can lead to life-changing injuries.
Birth injuries are caused by a variety of complications during the stages of birth. The most common causes of birth injury to a baby are:
- Fetal oxygen deprivation.
- Premature birth.
- Trauma during delivery.
These problems can occur due to poor monitoring of the progress and development of birth, leading to negligent care and a traumatic delivery for both mother and child.
Should I make a childbirth negligence claim?
Compensation can provide crucial support helping families access any additional ongoing care, therapy, and special equipment that a mother or child may require.
Early payments can also be secured to ensure immediate steps can be taken to maximise a child’s potential if they have suffered injuries at birth that will affect them long term, including therapy, specialist equipment, accommodation, and care.
Our work often leads to changes being made and extra training being provided on maternity wards, meaning your case could help prevent a similar tragedy from happening to another family in the future.
If you, or your child, have been affected adversely in any way during pregnancy, childbirth, or in the immediate aftercare period, our team of expert childbirth loss and injury lawyers are here to support you through this difficult time.
What is the average amount of birth injury compensation?
Compensation for birth injury can range vastly depending on the severity of the injury and loss suffered.
In cases relating to children suffering life-long injuries, such as Cerebral palsy or Erb’s palsy, damages can be awarded into many millions of pounds, as this money is required to cover the cost of round-the-clock care and home adaptations needed.
Damages are ultimately awarded to help families through difficult times without the added worry of the financial implications of additional medical care or other costs. These can include:
- Damages for the pain and suffering caused to the mother or child due to a doctor or medical staff member’s negligence.
- Funding for required care, equipment or household adjustments.
- Medical expenses incurred by seeking specialist healthcare to deal with the injuries or afflictions following a birth injury.
- Loss of earnings for you or a loved one acting as a carer due to the injuries sustained.
- Funeral expenses in the event of a patient dying due to birth negligence, whether this is the mother or child.
How can Hudgells help me in my childbirth negligence claim?
Hudgell Solicitors has a highly experienced legal team that is supported by our own in-house medical experts – including a registered midwife – meaning we are able to fully assess cases and the standard of treatment provided.
Our first involvement is to listen to those questions, provide some expert initial free advice, and discuss whether you want to start a birth negligence claim. There is no commitment when contacting us, but it will enable our lawyers to assess whether your case can be taken forward and inform you what the next steps will be.
Should we feel we can pursue a compensation claim on your behalf, a specialist medical negligence lawyer will be assigned and dedicated to supporting you through your case. They will explain, in plain, non-legal language, what is likely to be needed from you at each stage of the process, including what evidence and information will need to be obtained.
Our representation sees us:
- Carry out initial fact-finding by discussing with you what happened, what went wrong and the impact it has had on your life.
- Inform the healthcare provider of our investigation into the care they provided, requesting relevant medical records and details of examinations and treatment.
- Seek independent medical opinion to determine whether a mother or child’s injuries could and should have been prevented, had the proper care and attention been given.
- Make a decision, based on evidence gathered, as to whether we are in a position to make an official claim for damages to compensate for the suffering and hardship caused.
- Should admissions of negligence be secured, consider an application for interim payments to cover the cost of any immediate needs for a child and family.
- Seek to negotiate a compensation settlement out of court which reflects the injury and loss caused, including damages to cover any future care and assistance required.
Will there be a Serious Investigation Report?
The process of getting answers can be daunting for parents who often feel overwhelmed by the number of reviews and investigations that can be launched following the death of a baby. Read more here: Read more on Serious Incident Reports following baby loss
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Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) brain injury
What is Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) and is it caused by maternity care negligence? When parents are told their newborn baby has suffered a brain injury at birth it is, of course, a hugely distressing and worrying time. Suddenly they are forced to contemplate a very different life ahead for themselves, their wider family and […]
Pregnancy, Childbirth and Informed Consent – what you need to know
During pregnancy and birth, healthcare professionals have a duty to provide a reasonable amount of information to an expectant mother, especially before and during labour. This helps expectant parents to make decisions with what’s referred to as ‘informed consent’, or ‘medical consent, before treatment is provided or procedures are carried out. During pregnancy and childbirth […]
How to Make a Medical Complaint
If you’re not happy with the medical treatment you or a member of your family has received, you are legally entitled to have your concerns investigated. You should also receive a full response from the healthcare provider. Listen to Samantha Darwin, a senior medical negligence solicitor at Hudgells, explain how to make a formal complaint […]
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