Birth Injury Solicitors for Medical Negligence at Childbirth.

The Medical Negligence department is recognised in Tier One for the West Midlands in the 2024 edition of The Legal 500, which states ‘It has a vast array of experience in cases involving catastrophic injuries (including birth, brain and spinal injuries, amputations and fatal claims)’. A testimonial reads: ‘Real specialists in their field with a great understanding of the sector and the requirements pertinent to it but within what feels like a more personal and more compact team. They are always keen to put vulnerable clients and their needs first and to ensure that everything possible is done to smooth the process for them’. Work highlights include: ‘Secured a £1.1m settlement negotiated at mediation for maternal injury claim notwithstanding initial denial of liability and disputed extent of injury suffered’.

The Chambers UK 2024 ranks the department in Band One, describing us as an “impressive practice group with a growing presence across the West Midlands”. They add: “The team offers specialist advice across the full gamut of clinical negligence mandates, with particular experience in cases of surgical error, delayed diagnosis and failure to supervise those at risk of suicide. The firm is additionally skilled in cases relating to post-surgical negligence, brain injury and fatal claims.”

In 2018 Lanyon Bowdler won the Clinical Negligence Team of the Year title at the Eclipse Proclaim Personal Injury Awards in Manchester, beating off competition from across the UK.

In 2022 the team were finalists for the same aware and department head, Beth Heath won the award for Clinical Negligence Solicitor of the Year.

In general, the time limit for bringing a personal injury claim is three years from the date of the injury or the ‘date of knowledge’ of the injury (to cover situations where the impacts surface at a future time).

However, if a child sustains an injury at birth the time limit will often expire on their 21st birthday unless the child never gains mental capacity. In which case the time limits do not apply.

No matter what these general rules say, it is always advisable to seek the advice of an experienced professional who understands all of the technical nuances. There may be important factors in your case that could prove vital to a successful outcome that may be missed otherwise.

Early intervention by an expert is always beneficial in complex cases like Birth Injury Compensation Claims.

The most common cause of cerebral palsy is a lack of oxygen during birth, which causes progressive and irreversible brain injury. This can, unfortunately, happen due to clinical negligence, if the hospital fails to make a timely intervention in labour or makes another error resulting in a failure to provide a suitable standard of care.

There are different forms of cerebral palsy that affect a baby’s movement with differing levels of severity, and each can cause cognitive and physical impairment. There are three broad categories: spastic, athetoid and ataxic cerebral palsy.
A lot of medical care will be required by a baby suffering from cerebral palsy, so it is important to be aware of the legal options available, by contacting our cerebral palsy solicitors, if you think you might be entitled to compensation.

Shoulder dystocia occurs when a baby’s shoulder becomes trapped behind the mother’s pelvic bone during pregnancy. The common risk factors include maternal diabetes, a suspected large baby and a family history of shoulder dystocia.

The condition can result in shoulder paralysis (which could be permanent), a strain of the nerves running through the neck, or a broken bone or clavicle.

Sadly, some shoulder dystocia cases are due to clinical negligence and can be avoided. You could be entitled to make a birth injury compensation claim if there is any evidence of a lack of medical skill or care in your case.

Brachial plexus injury, or Erb’s palsy as it is also known, often arises due to shoulder dystocia. The brachial plexus is a series of nerves that link the spine to the shoulder, arm and hand, and damage to those nerves during birth can result in a brachial plexus birth injury.

Symptoms can include a lack of muscle control in the arm, hand or wrist, a lack of feeling in the arm or hand, or even a paralysed arm. A brachial plexus injury can be temporary but is often permanent.
Many injuries happen at birth when the baby’s shoulders have become impacted and the brachial plexus nerves are stretched or torn.
If medical professionals failed to reduce the risk of a potential birth injury, it can be a case of medical negligence.