Giving birth to a child can be a very joyous yet exhausting experience. If you or your child suffer an injury during this time, it can be very traumatising, with potentially lifelong consequences for both of you. You might be considering making a birth injury claim, and in this guide, we’ll discuss the process and how compensation is calculated.
Key Points On Birth Injury Claims
- You may have an eligible birth injury claim if you or your baby suffer avoidable harm during birth due to poor care.
- If your child suffers a birth injury due to substandard care, you can claim on their behalf by becoming a litigation friend, or your child can make their claim after turning 18.
- Your birth injury claim may include compensation for your injuries and monetary losses.
- Our panel of expert medical negligence solicitors could help you on a No Win No Fee basis.
Browse Our Guide
- Am I Eligible To Make A Birth Injury Claim?
- Can I Claim On Behalf Of My Child?
- Types Of Birth Injuries That Lead To Claims
- Average Birth Injury Compensation Amounts
- How To Make A Birth Injury Claim
- Why Trust Legal Helpline With Your Claim?
- More Information On Birth Injury Claims
Contact us for your medical negligence claim:
- Message us on live chat.
- Contact us online by leaving your details.
- Call us at 0333 000 0729.
Am I Eligible To Make A Birth Injury Claim?
You need to prove the following to make a birth injury claim:
- You were owed a duty of care by a healthcare professional.
- There was a breach in this duty of care.
- As a result of this breach, you or your baby suffered an unnecessary or avoidable injury.
A doctor or any other medical professional has a duty of care towards their patient. To meet this duty, they must meet the minimum standard of acceptable care. This can include things like:
- Gathering an accurate history from the patient
- Being aware of known allergies and taking appropriate steps
- Monitoring the health of the baby pre and post birth.
- Performing necessary tests and correctly interpreting the results
- Conducting an emergency caesarian when necessary
A failure to take these steps, or to do them poorly, could be a breach of duty, and if it causes harm to you or your child, a claim for damages could be made.
If you are unsure about the duty of care in your or your child’s injury claim, call us now for a free case assessment.
Can I Claim On Behalf Of My Child?
If your baby has suffered a birth injury, you could claim on their behalf by applying to become a litigation friend. The court will judge you against the following criteria before appointing you to this position:
- You have no conflict of interest.
- You’re capable of making fair decisions in a competent manner.
The appointment is usually very straightforward for a parent to become a litigation friend. Speak to us now for more guidance on child injury claims.
Types Of Birth Injuries That Lead To Claims
Here are some common childbirth injuries that can be suffered due to a breach of duty:
Injury To The Child
- Brain or head injury
- Cerebral Palsy
- Erb’s Palsy
- Scars or bruises
- Fractures
- Injury to the facial nerve
- Infection
Injury To The Mother
- Ruptured uterus or bladder.
- Vaginal tearing or fissures
- Maternal infection
- Improper stitching
- Mental trauma
Speak to us now to learn how to prove medical negligence in the UK.
Average Birth Injury Compensation Amounts
You must be wondering how much compensation you claim. Every medical negligence claim is unique, and the same arbitrary standards cannot be applied to all claims. Therefore, it’s advisable to consult a solicitor to value a birth injury claim through its merits.
Your traumatic birth compensation may include two heads:
- General Damages: This provides compensation for your birth injuries- physical and psychological.
- Special Damages: This includes compensation for the financial losses you may have suffered due to your injuries.
How Compensation Is Calculated
For general damages, your birth injury solicitor or the person responsible for calculating your compensation will refer to the Judicial College guidelines (JCG). The JCG lists different kinds of injuries and the approximate compensation range for them. We’ve provided the figures for possible birth injuries in the table below. However, you must note that the first row isn’t from the JCG, and these figures are to be taken only as guidelines.
The top figure would represent damages for a child who would need life long support and rehabilitation due to a serious brain injury during birth.
| Injury | Notes | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries and Special Damages | There are multiple injuries along with a loss of income and a need for professional care. | Up to £20,000,000+ |
| Brain Injury- Very Severe | This bracket includes developmental abnormalities like Cerebral Palsy and permanent disabilities.. | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Injuries to Female Reproductive System- Severe (a) | There are multiple surgeries performed and complications like ectopic pregnancies. | £140,210 to £207,260 |
| Injuries to Female Reproductive System- Severe (b) | There is infertility along with permanent sexual dysfunction in a person already having children. | £52,490 to £124,620 |
| Injuries to Female Reproductive System- Severe (f) | There are complications like pain, mental trauma and bleeding due to late diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy. | £4,140 to £24,930 |
| PTSD- Severe | There is a serious impact on the individual's ability to work | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| PTSD-Moderately Severe | There is a major disability but a chance of recovery. | £28,250 to £73,050 |
| Bladder Injury-Seriously impaired control | There is pain along with loss of bladder control. | £78,080 to £97,540 |
| Bladder Injury- Fairly Long-term interfered function | Some sensation of urgency remains although there is almost full-recovery. | £28,570 to £38,210 |
| Bowel Injury- Severe (c) | There is pain and incontinence even after surgery. | In the region of £97,530 |
Special Damages In Birth Injury Cases
You could include the following special damages or financial losses in your birth injury claim:
- Travel costs to visit the hospital.
- Medical expenses
- Loss of earnings, including income and benefits
- Disability equipment and home modifications
- Rehabilitation costs
- Professional care or hours of care put in by a family member
As mentioned in the previous section, if a child is significantly injured during birth due to a breach of duty could need significant compensation to help give them as normal a life as possible. This could include lifelong therapies and medical treatments, as well as compensation to reflect the fact that they may not be able to work.
Reach out to an advisor if you would like to check your eligibility to claim, either for yourself or on behalf of your child.
How To Make A Birth Injury Claim
While it isn’t mandatory to hire birth injury solicitors for your birth injury claim, we recommend that you seek expert guidance. The medical negligence solicitors on our panel have years of experience in handling traumatic birth claims and will help you navigate the entire claims process.
Gather Evidence – Medical Records, Witness Statements And More
You must gather evidence in support of your birth injury compensation claim. Some examples of the proof you could use are:
- If somebody has been accompanying you to the hospital visits, their contact details could be used to compile witness statements later.
- Medical records like prescriptions, X-rays and correspondence with the GP.
- Diary entries or personal written records.
- Photographic evidence of injuries
How Long You Have To Make A Claim
The Limitation Act 1980 gives you three years to start your birth injury claim. The time limit applies from the date of the negligence or the date of awareness. However, this time limit doesn’t apply in certain cases:
- Minors: If your baby suffers from a birth injury, you could claim on their behalf as a litigation friend, as explained above. Another option is that the child makes their claim once they turn 18 years old. The time limit will then apply after their 18th birthday, so they have until they are 21 to start a claim.
- Insufficient Mental Capacity: If someone does not have the capacity to bring a claim, then there is no time limit unless they recover this capacity. The three years would start from when they recover capacity.
Starting a claim sooner is always advisable as it could be that access can be granted to interim payments if the medical provider accepts fault. These are part of the damages paid before a case is settled. This could allow some of the financial losses to be paid early to help rehabilitate an injured child, for example, private input from a physiotherapist or a speech and language therapist.
You can call our advisors to discuss any needs that you or your child might have as a result of negligent medical treatment.
No Win No Fee Agreements
You might be concerned about the costs involved in claiming for birth injury negligence. However, the birth injury solicitors on our panel offer No Win No Fee services in the form of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means that:
- You won’t have to pay your solicitor for their service while your claim is pending or if you lose your case.
- If you receive compensation, a fixed percentage of some of it shall be retained by your solicitor as their success fee. This percentage is capped by the law to ensure you retain the majority of the compensation.
Do you want information on the time limit for hospital negligence claims? Speak to our advisors.
Why Trust Legal Helpline With Your Claim?
The medical negligence solicitors on our panel are competent in dealing with birth injury claims. If you work with one of the solicitors from our panel, they’ll guide the entire process from the beginning to the end and will work hard to ensure you get compensated for your injuries.
Make your birth injury claim with the No Win No Fee birth injury lawyers from our panel:
- Message us on live chat.
- Contact us online by leaving your details.
- Call us at 0333 000 0729.
More Information On Birth Injury Claims
We hope you found our guide on making a birth injury claim helpful. We present to you some of our other relevant guides:
- Information on how long an NHS claim takes.
- Details on making a stroke misdiagnosis claim.
- Guidance on GP negligence claims.
Here are some external resources for more information:
- Information on pregnancy from the NHS.
- Details on postnatal depression from the NHS.
- Guidance from the government on maternity pay and leave.
