In this guide, we’ll be discussing how birth injury solicitors could assist you when you make a medical negligence claim. Within this guide, we will also set out the eligibility criteria that must be met in order to have valid grounds to seek compensation, and the various types of birth injury claims our panel of solicitors could help with.
Additionally, this guide will discuss how birth injury compensation payouts are calculated, as well as the evidence that could be used to support your case. Furthermore, we will discuss some of the benefits of working with a birth injury solicitor from our panel on a No Win No Fee basis.
If you have any further questions regarding birth injury claims that this guide may not have covered, you can contact our advisory team. They can also offer you free advice for your potential claim.
Contact them today by:
- Calling 0800 408 7827
- Contacting us online for a callback.
- Using our live chat.
Choose A Section
- How Can Birth Injury Solicitors Help You Claim?
- When Are You Eligible To Make A Maternity Negligence Claim?
- How Much Compensation Could You Receive When Making A Claim For Medical Negligence?
- Potential Evidence When Making A Maternity Negligence Claim
- Make A Claim With No Win No Fee Birth Injury Solicitors
- Learn More About Maternity Negligence Cases
How Can Birth Injury Solicitors Help You Claim?
If you have an eligible medical negligence claim, one of the experienced birth injury solicitors on our panel could help you with your case.
Some examples of what they could help you with include:
- Collecting evidence to support your case.
- Collecting any witness statements.
- Organising an independent medical assessment.
- Ensuring your claim is filed within the correct limitation period.
- Guiding you through the claiming processes.
- Negotiating a fair settlement for you.
What Birth Injury Claims Could A Solicitor Help With?
The solicitors on our panel also have lots of experience dealing with a wide variety of birth injury claims, including those being made for injuries sustained by the mother or child.
- Cerebral Palsy – This is a group of conditions that affect movement and co-ordination caused by a problem with the brain that develops before, during, or soon after birth. One cause is the brain not getting enough oxygen during birth. For example, a nurse may have failed to check your baby’s oxygen levels while you were giving birth, causing them to develop cerebral palsy.
- Fractures – A midwife could use excessive force that is unnecessary causing the mother to sustain a broken pelvis or the baby a broken collarbone.
- Retained placenta – This is when a medical professional fails to ensure that the placenta has left or been removed from the body.
Contact our team of advisors today to discuss your case and potentially be connected with one of the birth injury solicitors on our panel.
When Are You Eligible To Make A Maternity Negligence Claim?
All medical professionals (including nurses, midwives, GP and doctors), owe their patients a duty of care to provide them with the correct standard of care. Should they breach this duty, causing you or your baby to suffer avoidable or unnecessary harm, you might want to understand if it could be possible for you to seek medical negligence compensation.
In order to have eligible grounds to pursue a medical negligence claim for a birth injury, you must demonstrate:
- You were owed a duty of care by a medical professional.
- This duty of care was breached.
- This breach caused avoidable or unnecessary harm to your baby or yourself.
However, there may be certain instances where a birth injury could occur but the medical professional treating you did not breach their duty of care. In these instances, it would not be possible to make a claim.
Is There A Medical Negligence Claim Time Limit?
As per The Limitation Act 1980, you’ll have three years to start a medical negligence claim. This runs from the date of the medical negligence, or the date your first realised the avoidable harm was caused by a medical professional breaching their duty of care. This is otherwise known as the date of knowledge.
If your baby was the one who was harmed, they will be unable to make their own claim until they turn 18. From this date, they will have three years to begin legal proceedings. Alternatively, a litigation friend could be appointed to make a claim on their behalf prior to their 18th birthday.
Contact our advisors today for more information regarding the time limits and whether one of the birth injury solicitors from our panel could assist you in suing a hospital for negligence.
How Much Compensation Could You Receive When Making A Claim For Medical Negligence?
If you make a successful birth injury claim, the compensation payout awarded could consist of two heads of claim. The first is known as general damages, and it compensates for the medical negligence.
A publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) lists different guideline valuation brackets for different forms of harm. It is a document that many legal professionals will use to help them value the general damages portion of your payout. The figures used in the following table have been taken from the most recent publication of the JCG, published in April 2022.
Note that these figures are to only be used as a guide. Compensation is awarded on a case-by-case basis, meaning that the amount you receive may differ from those stated below.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Guidelines | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head and Brain Injury | Very Severe (a) | £282,010 to £403,990 | This bracket includes cases involving quadriplegic cerebral palsy resulting in severe disabilities that are either cognitive or physical. |
| Bowels | Double Incontinence (a) | Up to £184,200 | Alongside other medical complications. |
| Bowels | Faecal urgency and passive incontinence | In the region of £79,920 | Symptoms continuing after surgery and leading to embarrassment and distress, typically following a birth injury. |
| Reproductive System: Female | Infertility by injury or disease (a) | £114,900 to £170,280 | Infertility with sexual disfunction. Symptoms will include severe depression, anxiety and pain. |
| Reproductive System: Female | Infertility with no aggravating features (c) | £56,080 to £71,350 | No sexual dysfunction in a young person with no children. |
| Shoulder Injuries | Severe (a) | £19,200 to £48,030 | Damage to the brachial plexus associated with a neck injury. |
| Shoulder Injuries | Serious (b) | £12,770 to £19,200 | A dislocated shoulder causing pain in the neck and shoulder with damage to the lower part of the brachial plexus. |
| Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips | Moderate (b) (i) | £26,590 to £39,170 | Significant injury to the hip or pelvis that doesn't cause a major permanent disability. |
Claiming Special Damages In Birth Injury Claims
Special damages are the second head of claim that you may receive. This compensates you for any financial expenses you have experienced due to the medical negligence. Some examples could include:
- Medical expenses.
- Travel costs.
- Care costs.
Providing evidence of these financial losses could help support your case. For example, receipts and invoices could be used as evidence.
To receive a free valuation of your medical negligence claim today, you can contact our advisory team. They may also connect you with one of the birth injury solicitors on our panel if it seems like you have a strong case.
Potential Evidence When Making A Maternity Negligence Claim
Collecting evidence is a vital step in the medical negligence claims process. For a birth injury claim, the evidence you collect will need to prove that a medical professional breached their duty of care, and due to this avoidable harm was suffered by your baby or yourself. Some examples of the evidence that could be used to support your case could include:
- A copy of your or your baby’s medical records, stating any injuries you have been diagnosed with.
- The contact details of anyone you witnessed your treatment, as they could provide a statement at a later date.
- Pictures of any visible harm.
These are only a few examples of the evidence you could gather. One of the birth injury solicitors from our panel could help you with gathering evidence more specific to your case. To find out if you could be eligible to work with one of them, you can contact our advisors.
Make A Claim With No Win No Fee Birth Injury Solicitors
Providing that you have a valid claim, one of the birth injury solicitors on our panel could assist with your case on a No Win No Fee basis. By offering their services to you under a Conditional Fee Agreement, you won’t be expected to pay anything upfront or during the process of your case for their work. As well as this, in the scenario that you are unsuccessful in your claim, you won’t have to pay them for their services.
However, in the case that you’re successful in your claim, you’ll have to pay a success fee. This is a legally capped percentage, that is taken directly from your compensation.
Contact Us For Free Today About Your Medical Negligence Claim?
If you still have questions in regard to your potential claim, remember that you can contact our advisors at any time for a free claim valuation. If our advisors think you have a strong case, they may connect you with one of the birth injury solicitors on our panel.
Contact our advisors by:
- Calling 0800 408 7827
- Contacting us online for a callback.
- Using our live chat.
Learn More About Maternity Negligence Cases
Additional guides by us regarding medical negligence claims:
- How to find hospital negligence solicitors for your claim.
- Advice on when you could make a claim for delayed treatment and how much compensation you could receive.
- When could you make a claim for unnecessary medical treatment and how much could you receive in compensation.
Further information and resources:
- NHS – Labour and Birth.
- GOV.UK – NHS Constitution for England.
- Nursing and Midwifery Council – Standards for midwives.
Contact our advisors today to see if one of the birth injury solicitors on our panel could help you with your medical negligence claim.