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What is wrongful conception?
Making a considered decision to prevent having children is a decision usually one taken for very specific reasons, and to avoid future difficulties. The options are for a male to have a vasectomy and for a female to undergo a sterilisation procedure.
Facing an unexpected pregnancy can be the cause of great heartache for those who have made a conscious decision not to have a child, or another child.
The decision to have a sterilisation procedure can be related to careers, health, finances, or even just to ensure a manageable family environment, so an unexpected pregnancy can cause practical and financial hardship.
Wrongful conception compensation can often be claimed, against both NHS and private health providers, if it can be proved that surgical procedures were substandard and negligent, or in some cases, where medical professionals have failed to provide appropriate advice.
Specialist legal support
At Hudgell Solicitors we have a team of experienced medical negligence solicitors who have years of experience in supporting mothers/parents in pursuing compensation relating to pregnancies after failed sterilisation procedures.
These cases can be highly sensitive and emotive, and we know making a compensation claim can sit uncomfortably with many, especially when a healthy, much-loved baby is born.
However, the law states that you have a right to control the size of your family, and should you be denied this, compensation can be claimed.
It is also only right that people be able to secure damages for having to go through the difficulty of a termination, as a direct result of a negligent sterilisation procedure.
Causes of failed sterilisation
Sterilisation for women involves sealing a woman’s fallopian tubes, preventing eggs from being able to be fertilised. The tubes are either cut or clamped, tied or partly removed.
This procedure is reported to be more than 99% effective at preventing pregnancies, so if you do become pregnant after having a sterilisation procedure, it is only right to ask questions over the standard of the treatment provided.
In some cases, clips come free due to not having been secured in place properly during the surgery, and we have seen a number of cases where clips have been placed in the wrong position, and not on the fallopian tubes, leading to pregnancies.
Sometimes fallopian tubes can re-grow naturally, however, this happens over a period of time, so if you become pregnant soon after a sterilisation procedure, it is likely it was not done to the required standard.
In these cases, you may be entitled to pursue a medical negligence claim.
Causes of failed vasectomy
A vasectomy, the male sterilisation, is a relatively simple procedure involving tubes being cut which carry sperm.
The most common cause of failed vasectomies due to negligence include cutting ligaments instead of the tubes.
Surgeons should always inform patients that they are likely to remain fertile for around three to four months after the procedure, and fertility should be tested about 12 weeks after the procedure.
Compensation for women who fell pregnant after failed sterilisation procedures by same gynaecologist
A West Yorkshire gynaecologist has admitted making errors when carrying out sterilisation procedures on women, resulting in them becoming pregnant. Hudgell Solicitors have recently settled compensation cases on behalf of patients relating to errors made by Mr Nicholas Myerson, with liability fully admitted. Mr Myerson, a BUPA registered consultant and Clinical lead for Obstetrics and […]
How to make a failed vasectomy & sterilisation 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.
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FAQs
What claims can be made for failed sterilisation?
Failed sterilisation claims relating to pregnancies after people have undergone dedicated surgery to prevent them are often referred to as Wrongful Conception cases, and damages can be sought for a number of reasons, including;
- General damages – For pain and suffering and inconvenience of an unwanted pregnancy and going through pregnancy, labour and birth.
- Loss of right to limit family size – Damages of £15,000 are typically awarded in such cases for an individual’s loss of freedom to limit the size of their family.
- Losses and expenses – This can include loss of earnings during maternity or paternity leave, the costs of baby equipment and of undergoing a re-sterilisation procedure.
- Treatment – This can include psychological treatment linked to an unexpected pregnancy, or related to the need to have a termination.
- Care and assistance – Such as help and support required by family members during pregnancy, perhaps to look after you or your other children.
- Costs of raising a disabled child – Significant damages can be pursued if a family has a baby born as the result of a wrongful conception which has injuries or disabilities. Both parents can claim for shock and distress on discovering the child’s condition as disabled, and the increased stress related to bringing up the child. They can claim for lost earnings for bringing up the child, which they would not have lost had the child been healthy.
How will Hudgell Solicitors help my claim?
If we decide to take on your claim, our legal team will contact those who carried out the procedure on you and ask for medical records relating to your treatment.
We will state that, following a sterilisation procedure, a pregnancy still followed and that we intend to pursue a claim for damages as a result of negligence.
Should the private or public health provider know the treatment fell below the expected standards, they may accept responsibility and agree to discuss a settlement at that stage.
Should negligence be denied, we will instruct independent medical experts, who practice in the same area of expertise, to evaluate the treatment provided and give their opinions as to whether it was indeed negligent.
The vast majority of our legal cases are successfully resolved without the need to go to court, however, we have a track record of taking cases before a judge when it is required, and when defendants refuse to accept responsibility.
Our legal team will ensure we keep you updated and advised at all times, providing advice, free of legal jargon, as your case progresses.
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Meet our wrongful conception lawyers
Local lawyers at the heart of your community
Leonie Harvey
Theresa Greenwood
Vince Shore
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