Each year, there are approximately 30,000 reported cases of birth trauma in the UK. If you or your child have suffered an injury during childbirth that wasn’t your fault due to medical negligence you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation.
At Truth Legal, our expert birth injury solicitors can advise you on whether or not you have a case, and how to claim against both NHS and private hospitals.
What is a birth injury compensation claim
Birth injury compensation claims are a type of medical negligence claim. This means that you can claim compensation if you or your child has suffered injury as a result of a medical professional’s negligence, during or after childbirth.
You would need to be able to prove that you or your child were injured, and that your healthcare provider was at fault. Our specialist medical negligence solicitors can help you gather evidence to prove this.
Typically, you may be able to claim if:
- You had complications during pregnancy that were not dealt with promptly, leading to injuries to you or your child;
- There were medical difficulties during childbirth potentially injuring you or your child
- You were not provided with adequate care which led to injury
Healthcare professionals have a duty of care to protect you and your child. If they fail to do this, you may be able to make a birth injury claim.
Common types of birth injuries
Injuries during childbirth can affect the mother, child, or both. They may be mild and temporary, or long-term and potentially life-threatening. Some may even be caused during the pregnancy if the healthcare provider fails to spot signs of a health issue.
Injuries suffered by the mother can include:
- Perineal tears (between the bottom and the birth canal)
- Delayed Caesarean section complications
- Incontinence
- Fractured bones including pelvis or broken coccyx
- Nerve damage
- Avoidable pain suffered as a result of a failure by a medical professional to administer anaesthesia.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other psychological injuries.
Injuries to the child can include:
- Cerebral palsy (caused by lack of oxygen to the brain)
- Brain damage
- Erb’s palsy ( temporary paralysis of the arm if shoulders get stuck).
- Injuries from forceps or vacuum extraction.
- Complications during the birth sadly resulting in a still birth or neonatal death within the first 28 days of the child’s life.
How to make a birth injury claim
To make a birth negligence claim, first you should get in touch with our birth injury solicitors. You can start by filling out our 60-second form with a brief description of what happened. Our medical negligence claim specialists will let you know if we think you have a case.
If our specialist solicitors think you have a claim, we’ll take you through the next steps:
- Arranging a callback to discuss your case and the injury you, or your child, suffered as a result of medical negligence.
- Gathering evidence, including where appropriate, witness statements, details of medication errors, proof of loss of earnings and any other medical reports.
- Making the claim, wherein our birth injury claims specialists will write a ‘Letter of Claim’ to the NHS or private healthcare provider. By law, NHS Resolution or the private healthcare provider has up to four months to respond to our letter, so please bear this in mind while awaiting their reply.
- Taking your case further if appropriate – if the healthcare provider disputes your claim then our medical negligence team may issue court proceedings on your behalf. It’s very rare that you will need to attend court yourself.
- Securing and negotiating an award of compensation for you if your claim is successful.. This process may take over a year, depending on the complexity of your claim. In some cases, we are able to obtain ‘interim payments’ to help cover any medical expenses for you or your child while your claim is ongoing.
You generally have three years from the date of your injury, or when you became aware of potential medical negligence to make a claim.
It’s always best to claim sooner rather than later, as this helps us to gather evidence.
If you are claiming on behalf of a child, the three-year limit still applies. However, if the child reaches 18 without you having claimed, then they can claim for themselves within three years of their 18th birthday. If the child lacks mental capacity past the age of 18, then there is no time limit.
Proving negligence in birth injury claims
Our specialist birth injury solicitors can help you to prove that your birth injury was caused by medical negligence. In legal terms, you need to be able to prove three things:
- Breach of duty: Evidence that an individual or organisation was negligent with your medical care.
- Causation: Proving that the breach of duty caused physical and/or psychological harm to you and/or your baby.
- Quantum: The value of compensation (damages) if you are able to establish breach of duty and causation.
There are various forms of evidence you can use to support the claims process. Our medical negligence lawyers can help you to gather medical records, witness statements, receipts and proof of time off work where appropriate.
How much compensation for a birth injury
How much compensation you receive will depend on multiple factors. When we advise you in relation to the value of your claim, there are two components to consider:
General damages– compensation for the injuries. General damages are valued by reviewing the Judicial College Guidelines which provide guidance set by the courts for valuing claims based on the type and the severity on an injury. There are no set amounts for compensation paid in birth injury claims. Some examples include:
- Brain damage (minor to moderate)- £2,690 to £267,340.
- Injury to pelvis (such as a fracture) which is moderate, may require a hip replacement or other surgery- £15,370 to £32,450.
- Moderately severe psychiatric injury £23,270 to £66,920.
Special damages– any past and future financial losses incurred directly as a result of the injuries suffered by you or your child. Examples include:
- Loss of earnings – if you have taken time off work, as a result of your injuries or to attend to the needs of your child as a result of injuries they have suffered.
- Costs for medical treatment – this includes past costs and also future costs for surgery, physiotherapy, psychological treatment such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and any other medical treatment supported by the independent medical experts instructed on your claim
- Care and assistance- for both past and future assistance. This can cover care provided by friends and family but also in home-nursing, specialised external care and support.
The role of medical experts in birth injury claims
In a clinical negligence birth injury claim, medical experts play a crucial role in establishing whether the standard of care provided fell below what is reasonably expected of a competent medical professional and whether that breach caused the injury in question. These experts—typically obstetricians, midwives, neonatologists, or paediatric neurologists—review the relevant medical records and provide independent, objective opinions on the management of the pregnancy, labour, and delivery. Their evidence helps determine whether any mistakes were made, such as delays in recognising foetal distress or failures to perform a timely caesarean section, and whether those mistakes directly resulted in the injury to the baby or mother. The expert’s opinion is essential in proving both breach of duty and causation, which are central to the success of the claim.
Emotional impact of birth injuries
Whether it’s birth injury to mother compensation or claims for children, medical negligence can result in significant psychological injury to the mother.
In more severe cases, such as neonatal death, these impacts will be long-term and severe. Other complications could lead to life-changing health conditions.
Drawing on our years of experience with birth negligence claims, we will factor in any psychological injury when advising you in respect of compensation.
The impact of birth injuries on a child’s life
Children who have been injured at birth may suffer long-term challenges, depending on the seriousness of their injury. For example, if they have brain damage from oxygen deprivation, they may experience difficulties such as:
- Learning challenges
- Physical limitations such as difficulty walking
- Finding it harder to connect with others socially.
These challenges can also impact a child’s emotional wellbeing, especially if they feel different from their peers. Our birth injury solicitors understand how deeply this can affect a child and their family, and we will take all of this into account when valuing the claim.
Legal support for birth injury claims
When claiming birth negligence compensation, it’s important to have the right law firm behind you. In most cases Truth Legal can act for you under a No Win, No Fee agreement. his means that, in all but very rare circumstances, you will not have to pay our fees if your claim is unsuccessful.
With a successful outcome, some of our fees are paid by a portion of your compensation award. This is the normal way in which No Win, No Fee agreements operate. It is also usual for most of our fees to be paid by the other party or their insurers.
Success stories of birth injury claims
Our specialist clinical negligence solicitors have helped families like yours recover the compensation they deserve for medical negligence. In one case, we were able to claim £15,000 for a mother who suffered severe pain due to pressure sores, caused during childbirth.
An investigation into the mother’s case showed that the cause of the problem had been acknowledged during her pregnancy and ignored. She was also given a faulty mattress which made her more uncomfortable.
Our lawyers successfully claimed compensation for the mother’s physical and psychological pain. You can find out more about the case here.
Navigating legal terminology in birth injury claims
You’re likely to hear a lot of legal terminology through the birth injury claims process. Our job is to make this as easy for you as possible, so here are some common terms to help:
Negligence – when a medical provider fails in their duty of care and that failure causes injury, for example, missing crucial symptoms during labour
Damages – compensation for an injury suffered and its effect on your life as well any past and future financial losses you suffer as a result of your injuries, for example, taking time off work or medical treatment.
Settlement – the compensation amount you will receive.
Support resources for families affected by birth injuries
If you’ve been affected by a birth injury, our maternity negligence solicitors are here to help. While we’re helping with your claim, you can also get help from the following organisations:
Erb’s Palsy Group (brachial plexus palsy)
Why choose Truth Legal?
When you choose Truth Legal, we understand that the human side of a claim should not be ignored- Because You Matter. After all, it is the whole point of the claim. Compensation is not just financial, it has wider significance in how you come to terms with your injuries and move forward with your life. It can represent a way of making a difference, and allows you to take a stand against the mistakes that affected you – often in the hope that they are not repeated with someone else.
If you would like to start your claim, please contact us today to discuss your case.
