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Birth injury

Giving birth is considered to be one of the happiest life moments.

It should be a time of excitement and joy for all parents. In England and Wales alone 1,800 babies are born on average every day and the UK is one of the safest places in the world to give birth.

Some babies are born at home but the majority of babies are born in a hospital setting. If the expectant parent opts for a home birth care will be carried out by community midwifery teams. In a hospital, the Delivery Ward have a multi-disciplinary team who all work together to ensure the delivery of a baby is comfortable and safe with the highest level of care possible.

The Delivery Team will consist of midwifes, obstetricians (doctors specialised in pregnancy and birth), anaesthetists (they will give epidurals and provide anaesthesia for caesarean sections), maternity support workers, neonatal nurses and paediatricians. In the hospital setting if the pregnancy has progressed normally and a normal birth expected a midwife will generally look after the expectant parent and deliver the baby. If any complications have developed during pregnancy or during the labour an obstetrician will be involved in the labour and birth. 

During labour, the unborn baby’s health and wellbeing will be assessed regularly with Fetal Monitoring (measuring the baby’s heart rate). This is essential to make sure the baby is well during the birth process and also so that appropriate action can be taken if complications arise. Vital observational tests are given to new-born babies as soon as they are born. This is called the Apgar Test. Other crucial tests known as Newborn Screening Tests are made on the baby within a few hours or days. These include a Blood Spot (heel prick) Test to check for several rare, serious disorders, a Physical Examination checking the eyes, heart, hips and testicles – in males - and a Newborn Hearing Test. It is imperative these tests are carried out in the appropriate time so that, if needed, suitable treatment is given as swiftly as possible. Early treatment prevents severe disabilities and deaths.

All the health professionals that are involved in the delivery of a new baby are highly trained and most babies arrive without complication. Stillbirths and neonatal mortality rates have reduced enormously over the last 20 years. Nevertheless, giving birth always carries risk and occasionally unavoidable complications do occur through no fault of the delivery team. However, sometimes the care a baby receives during labour, birth or just after birth does fall below what is expected with preventable mistakes resulting in injury to the baby. These devastating injuries (which can be catastrophic) caused by clinical errors of the medical professionals involved in the birth can affect the child and their family for the rest of their lives. This is clinical negligence. 

Clinical negligence resulting from an injury sustained at birth or during the immediate neonatal period (the first few hours or days after birth) can result in devastating consequences or even the tragic death of a child. Birth Injury clinical negligence means the care you received during your baby’s labour, birth or shortly after the birth fell below medically acceptable standards and this directly injured your child. When this happens your child may have a cause for a birth injury negligence claim. 

  • Common birth injury claims
    • Brain Injury 
    • Cerebral Palsy 
    • Delay in delivery
    • Erb’s Palsy 
    • Hip dysplasia
    • Epilepsy
    • Fractures
    • Head Injury
    • Infection
    • Nerve damage
    • Spinal Cord Damage
    • Stillbirth
    The causation of the above injuries can be due to various failures in care. The most common are:
    • Delayed consultant intervention
    • Failure of appropriate monitoring of baby during labour 
    • Delay in caesarean section
    • Failure to diagnose and treat or poorly treated Neonatal Hypoglycaemia 
    • Failure to diagnose and treat or poorly treated Neonatal Kernicterus (Jaundice)
    • Failure to diagnose Fetal distress
    • Incorrect prescribing or administration of medication
    • Lack of oxygen at birth (Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
    • Poor or lack of care during labour or birth leading to injury 

  • How we can help you claim compensation for a birth injury 

    It can take courage and can initially feel daunting approaching a medical negligence solicitor. This is particularly so when wishing to challenge the treatment and care provided by healthcare professionals who we often hold in high regard and who we place our health and trust in. The medical profession is not selective in who they cause harm to.

    It is important to appreciate that mistakes happen in any situation involving human beings, regardless of how well trained, skilled, experienced and caring they are. Where mistakes are made and harm is caused with regard to patient care there are consequences that may lead a patient wishing to consider instructing a solicitor to act on their behalf to bring legal action.

    More often than not, a patient will not be considering financial compensation once medical negligence has arisen. They do not see it being about money rather that they don’t want it to happen to anybody else. This is entirely understandable. As humans, we trust in the training and expertise of our healthcare professionals and don’t expect harm to be caused. Many patients want lessons to be learned to prevent further harm for others.

    Pursuing a claim against a healthcare professional (public and private) does raise awareness. Pursuing a claim leads to investigation and scrutiny and consideration of existing policies and procedures and to further training. It also allows for a financial settlement to be awarded which places a patient in a better position than they may have otherwise been. Financial compensation enhances quality of life and where it is not about money, it allows a patient to do good with any settlement they may be awarded.

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