Maternity Negligence Claims
Suffering from medical negligence during maternity or childbirth can have catastrophic effects on the lives of the whole family.
Maternity negligence claims are rare and more often than not, there are no complications during pregnancy or child birth that result in either the baby or mum being injured. Unfortunately, errors and negligence do happen from time to time and it can have a long lasting and life changing impact.
If you or your baby have suffered as a result of negligence during maternity and it was due to negligent behaviour from a medical professional you may be entitled to compensation.
If you feel you have suffered for negligence during maternity and would like to speak about your case with one of our solicitor, get in touch with our experienced team who will be happy to go through your matter.
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What Is Maternity Negligence
Maternity negligence is when an error or mistake is made during pregnancy or childbirth, leading to the mother, child or both to sustain injuries. For a claim to be made, you must be able to prove that any injuries were caused due to negligence from a medical professional and that if they had not been negligent, the injuries would not have been sustained.
Maternity negligence is very rare, however when errors are made due to negligent behaviour from a medical professional the consequences can leave a a family suffering with both physical and mental scars to last a life time.
Doctors and midwives have a duty to give reasonable care to a mother and her unborn child. But if mistakes are made during antenatal care this can lead to serious problems. If things go wrong the consequences can be catastrophic, even resulting in the death of a baby.
Examples of maternity negligence:
- Failure to detect serious abnormalities of the unborn baby
- Misdiagnosis of an ante natal infection
- Failed sterilisation
- Ectopic pregnancy
Common Maternity Claims
Some of the most common injuries arising from mistakes during childbirth can include:
- Infection (Group B Streptococcus (GBS))
- Fissures causing painful cracks in the lining of the vagina
- Vaginal tears (episiotomy and second or third degree tears) leading to incontinence
- Incorrect suturing following an episiotomy or caesarean section resulting in scarring and the need for further procedures
- Failure to manage pre-eclampsia or HELLP syndrome after the baby has been born leading to risk of seizures, stroke or death of the mother
- Failure to manage other infections
- Caesarean wound infection
- Death
How Do I Tell If I Suffered From Negligence?
This is an important question. But if you do have any concerns your labour or maternity period was mismanaged you should seek legal advice.
These conversations can be difficult to have but hospitals, midwives and nurses should all be open to talk to you about whether negligence has occurred, especially if it has caused you or your baby to suffer a birth-related injury. If you don’t feel comfortable having these conversations or you’re not happy with the information or answers you’re getting then you should seek advice from an expert.
There are set guidelines that should be followed during labour. The guidelines can be confusing but our experts can quickly assess if they have not been followed and if you have not received the correct level of care.
How Long Do I Have To Make a Maternity Negligence Claim?
In most cases, you will usually have 3 years from the incident taking place to start your negligence claim. In some cases you may be given longer to claim, for example if you are an adult without full mental capacity. But in most cases you will have 3 years from when you were injured or the date you were aware of the negligence.
When a baby is injured the time limit is extended – effectively to their 21st birthday (Three years after they become an adult at 18). For someone who does not have mental capacity (the ability to make their own decisions), the time limits do not apply.
If you are unsure if you can still make a claim, our team of medical negligence solicitors are happy to offer advice. Please do get in touch for a free consultation.
Is Legal Aid Available For Maternity Negligence Claims?
We’re unable to offer Legal Aid for maternity negligence claims, however we can offer you no win no fee on any personal injury or medical negligence claim.
This means if your case isn’t successful the you won’t have to pay us a penny.
Other Types of Pregnancy & Birth Related Negligence:
We are here to help you
Our team of expert medical negligence solicitors are experienced in handling claims for maternity negligence. We are here to help you get the answers as to why the medical mistakes took place. We instruct the appropriate medical experts needed to analyse and build a strong case.
As well as looking at maternity claims, we also deal with birth abnormality/defect claims as well.
No Win No Fee
Youngs Law offer no win, no fee for all of our medical negligence claims, so if you don’t win your case and receive compensation, you don’t pay us a penny. We will also wait for any fee to be paid to us when you receive you compensation and not upon winning you case.
If you think you may have a medical negligence claim involving genetics, contact us today.
