Birth Trauma Claims

The first step in bringing a compensation claim for birth trauma caused by negligence on the part of your medical practitioners is to speak to a legal expert. You can have a free initial consultation with one of our birth trauma lawyers to discuss whether you are eligible to make a claim.

If you decide to go ahead with your case, we will meet with you to go through the precise details of what happened and how it has impacted your health and your life. We will contact the health authority responsible and advise them of your intention to make a compensation claim for childbirth injuries.

We work with several birth trauma medical experts, and we will ask one of them to examine you and prepare a medical report. If your injuries are long-term, you may need to see your medical experts again after some time has elapsed so that they can assess your progress and what your prognosis is likely to be.

If you need private medical treatment or therapy, we will request payment for this during your case, so that you do not have to wait to have the help that you need.

We will work with you to calculate the amount of compensation that we believe you are owed and notify the solicitors for the health authority of the amount of your claim. If they admit liability, we will enter into negotiations with them over the size of your compensation payment.

If an agreement cannot be reached or they do not admit liability, we will prepare a strong case for court on your behalf, where you will be represented by an expert in negligent birth trauma.

If your claim is agreed, you will be entitled to compensation for the following:

• Pain and suffering

• Loss of amenity, or being unable to do things you used to do

• Financial losses, including loss of earnings and travel costs to medical appointments

• The cost of medical treatment or therapy that is not provided by the NHS

• Ongoing care costs if you need a professional carer or care from a relative

• Adaptations that need to be made to your home or equipment you may need

The size of birth trauma compensation payments varies widely depending on the severity of what has happened. If you speak to us about your case, we will be able to give you an initial idea of the range of compensation that is generally awarded for the type of injury you or your baby has sustained.

We understand that the issue of costs may be of concern to you, and we can offer different funding options, including:

• Legal Aid, available in some instances

• Cover provided by legal expenses insurance

• After the Event insurance (ATE insurance)

• Private payment

If you ring us for a discussion, we can answer any questions you may have about costs.

You will usually have three years in which to start a birth trauma damages claim. This is known as the limitation period and it runs from the date of the negligence or, if you were not immediately aware of the damage caused, from the date that you became aware.