How does birth injury compensation work?

Childbirth injuries can cause immense trauma for all those that are involved, and many of them can be long-lasting or even fatal for the mother or baby. Often, a birth injury can be caused by medical negligence, which is when a doctor or other medical professional fails to provide adequate treatment and care to their patients. This could involve failing to diagnose an existing condition or infection quickly enough, for example.

If you believe that you have experienced a childbirth injury to you or your child that was caused by negligence, you may be able to make a birth injury claim. Here, we guide you through how to make a birth injury compensation claim and what to expect in the process.

Can you make a negligence claim for a birth injury?

For injury or damage to qualify for a birth negligence claim, it must have been caused by a direct mistake made by medical staff or a delay in treating an issue that led to further damage. Cerebral palsy is one of the most common types of birth injury claims; however, there are many other types of birth injuries. These include varying degrees of damage to the baby’s brain and scarring or damage caused during assisted delivery. Instances in which negligence may have occurred could include:

• Failure to identify or treat infections quickly enough.
• Failure to recognise potentially dangerous conditions for either the mother or child during birth.
• Poor care during delivery that causes harm to the baby or mother.
• Incorrect medication, mishandling or unnecessary surgery.
• Poor monitoring of the baby's development during pregnancy, causing ignorance towards serious conditions such as Cerebral palsy.
• Negligence in the immediate neonatal period, for example, where there has been hypoglycaemia (low glucose due to difficulty feeding).

The above are just a handful of examples, but there could be many more potential scenarios in which medical negligence is to blame. If you are unsure whether you have a valid negligence case, contact us today for advice.

Find out more about the different types of childbirth negligence cases here.

What to expect when making a claim

Was a birth injury attributed to negligent treatment?

The first step in any compensation claim process will be to determine whether or not your medical negligence claim is valid. In this case, you will need to prove that the damage/injury was caused by clinical negligence during your pregnancy or birth. To do this, a law firm such as Wake Smith will work with obstetric, midwifery and other experts to retrace the treatment that you received and make an evaluation.

Can I get compensation?

If the evaluation proves that the birth injury was caused by birth injury negligence, you may be able to receive compensation for any damage that has been caused. You will need to work with a specialist clinical negligence to go through the process of formally making a claim and receiving adequate compensation.

What is considered when claiming birth injury compensation?

The amount of compensation that you could receive from your claim will depend on your individual circumstances. Several considerations will be taken in relation to all cases before a final compensation amount can be agreed on, including the following:

How severe is the damage/injury that has been caused?

The severity of any damage or injury that has been caused by clinical negligence could determine how much compensation you receive. The most severe injuries could prevent a mother (or child later on in life) from being able to work, which will affect income. For this reason, the compensation rate may be higher.

Has the damage/injury caused emotional or physical trauma to you or your child?

Trauma is usually determined by an event that causes extreme fear or distress, and both emotional and physical birth trauma can occur due to a childbirth injury. Higher compensations are often paid out if the event caused significant trauma.

Are there any associated travel/medical costs?

Some birthing injuries may require special medical care, which could build up further costs for the mother who has been affected. When you make a compensation claim, these costs will be accounted for so that the money that you receive will cover them.

Will the injury/damage be long-lasting, such as a brain injury?

A long-lasting injury will have a larger overall effect on a person's health and well-being, so bigger compensations tend to be made for these cases. If you, or your child, has received a long-lasting injury due to negligence, make sure that this is clearly stated in your claim.

For most claims, the more severe a birth injury case is, the more compensation will be paid out. Your compensation will be reviewed and judged to ensure fairness and an adequate resolution to the injury that you have experienced.

How do I make a hospital negligence claim?

To make a hospital negligence claim, you must first approach a law firm that specialises in medical negligence. Once you have contacted the law firm, the process of making your claim can begin. Every law firm will follow a similar process for making a negligence claim:

• Step 1: Initial evaluation to decide if your case is strong.
• Step 2: Investigation into the treatment that you received.
• Step 3: Gather as much information as possible and create a strong case.
• Step 4: Estimate how much compensation you could receive.
• Step 5: Take the claim to court if the case could not be handled out of court.

What can I expect from a hospital negligence claim for a birth injury?

All medical negligence claims will have slightly different outcomes in terms of the compensation that you receive; there is no predetermined amount that care services will have to payout. Instead, your case will be evaluated by professionals, and fair compensation will be decided upon.

Will I have to go to court?

Most negligence claims can be handled without having to go to court; however, some cases do reach this point. Do not worry if you have to go to court with your case, as your legal team will be able to guide you through the whole process and offer advice for courtroom success.

How can Wake Smith help?

We are a strong team of medical negligence solicitors in Sheffield who can help you get the compensation that you deserve and provide expert advice on moving forward with your claim. Our clinical negligence team consists of a team of experts and negligence solicitors who can offer representation to clients from across the UK. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you, get in touch with us today.

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Types of childbirth injury negligence claims