Birth Injury Solicitors for Claims for Negligent Care During 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.

The first step in any medical negligence claim is to have a thorough assessment of the case, establishing who is responsible for the accident and if you are eligible to claim compensation for it. We can deduce this by answering three questions:

• Have you been injured because of the incident?
• Has the incident been caused by the negligence of a third party?
• Did the responsible party owe you a duty of care?

If the answer to all three questions is “yes”, then we can proceed to claim for damages against the third party.

Before continuing with the claim, we will always discuss all of the costs and fees with you.

We often support claimants in birth injury claims on a no win, no fee agreement, also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means that if we do not succeed in getting compensation for you, our legal costs will be waived.

Whether you instruct us in a No Win No Fee Birth Negligence Claim, or decide to fund your claim in any other way, we will always provide the high quality, tailored legal advice that has made us one of the leading firms in the UK.

Collecting evidence and documenting all relevant events related to a childbirth negligence case is fundamental.

These cases can often be undervalued because of the lack or low quality of evidence. Lanyon Bowdler has built an impressive team of medical professionals who can provide expert assessments, and create high quality reports of the injuries you, a loved one, or a newborn have suffered.

Our Birth Injury Solicitors can then use this, together with all other relevant information gathered at this stage, to build a very strong case, ensuring you get the compensation you deserve for a childbirth injury.

Calculating the amount of compensation you could get for a birth injury requires a high level of legal expertise.

You will typically be awarded two types of compensation:

• General damages as compensation for the injury itself
• Special damages to reimburse past and future expenses caused by the effects of the injury

Amounts awarded for childbirth negligence can vary from a few thousand pounds for mental health effects up to 6 and 7-figure settlements for brain damage or cerebral palsy. There have been cases with severe injuries impacting both the parents’ and child’s life in the long term that have been awarded over £10 million.

We begin negotiations with the third party outside of court proceedings. This approach allows us to keep stress and complexity to a minimum, and by having built a strong case before approaching the party responsible for your injury, we are typically in a good position to get you the compensation you deserve.

In some cases, court proceedings are unavoidable. The person or entity that has caused your injuries may deny fault, or attempt to settle the case for a much lower figure than we calculated. If your case needs to be heard in court, we will provide guidance and representation for you, and will fight for your interests to be protected following such a traumatic event.

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 3 years from their 18th birthday – 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.

Making a Childbirth Negligence Claim may seem detrimental to the healthcare provider responsible, which can be a concern especially if made against the NHS. However, it’s important to highlight that speaking out and seeking justice after a birth injury is not only important for you and your family, but can be fundamental to make the system safer.

Every claim for negligence made against a healthcare provider will encourage the organisation to review and audit their protocols to ensure the issue is contained or resolved.

By making a Birth Injury Claim, hospitals and practices are held accountable for mistakes and become safer.

Cerebral palsy is the most common type of Birth Injury Claim, but there are many other types. We have been successful in a wide variety of childbirth injury claims including:

• Cerebral palsy claims
• Shoulder dystocia claims
• Brachial plexus injury (also known as Erb’s Palsy)
• Perineal tear claims
• Wrongful birth claims
• Incorrect stitching of tears or episiotomy
• Wrongly performed episiotomies
• Fissures
• Anaesthetic errors
• Errors in managing pre-eclampsia
• Caesarean section injury claims
• Foetal distress claims

There are many other injuries and serious complications which can derive from negligent behaviour during childbirth. If you believe you are entitled to childbirth negligence compensation, contact us today.

Childbirth negligence is a unique type of medical malpractice, as it can have very serious effects on both the parent and the child at the same time.

These injuries can be caused by many types of accidents, such as:

• Failure to diagnose a condition developed by the child
• Negligent monitoring of the birth, including vital signs of both parent and child
• Screening mistakes before the birth
• Negligent behaviour towards complications during childbirth

Any of these circumstances, and many more, can cause serious injuries to the mother and the baby. If you have suffered as a result of medical negligence related to a childbirth, contact Lanyon Bowdler today.

The NHS Resolution Early Notification Scheme was started in 2017 to investigate cases of serious injuries to newborn babies during birth. Since 2022, the rules state that brain injuries suffered by newborns must be reported to the legal department of the hospital or practice, and then to the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) within 72 hours.

NHS Resolution will then investigate and rule whether negligence has taken place. If they decide so, you will receive financial support, as well as a written apology.

You may appeal NHS Resolution’s decision, or settlement package, with the help of our Birth Injury Solicitors.