In the last few months, the Shrewsbury maternity scandal has brought a lot of attention to childbirth negligence in the UK. Devastating failures at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust may be the reason for more than 200 deaths and life-changing injuries to both mothers and infants.
Senior midwife Donna Ockenden’s report found that babies’ deaths were often not investigated, meaning that the failures in care were repeated and some mothers were even accused for their deaths.
In her report, Ms Ockenden cited negligence, such as ineffective monitoring of the mother and foetal growth, lack of training, and reluctance to perform Caesareans, which resulted in many babies dying shortly after birth.
If you have suffered from childbirth negligence, the Scott Rees & Co negligence team is here to offer you an initial free consultation and advise you on your case.
If you are not certain if your experience could become a medical negligence claim, here are some examples of types of birth injuries caused by medical negligence:
- Anaesthetic errors
- Errors in managing pre-eclampsia
- Fissures
- Wrongly performed episiotomies
- Mistakes in suturing tears or episiotomies
- Lack of screening or mistakes made during screening resulting in missing conditions
- Perineal tears
- Injuries to organs from caesarean sections
- Retained swabs
- Mistreatment of difficult births causing severe trauma
Birth injuries to the child can include:
- Brain injuries
- Cerebral palsy
- Cuts and scars
- Fractures to the skull, legs, arm, shoulder, and collarbone
- Fatalities
- Hip dysplasia
Expectant mothers put their trust in the medical professionals during this vulnerable time of their pregnancy and childbirth. Yet, however healthy and straightforward a pregnancy might be, if medical professionals fail to take proper care of both mother and baby it can sadly have very serious consequences.
Can I make a birth claim?
If you have suffered one of the above injuries due to medical negligence and medical professionals failed to diagnose, made mistakes, or did not treat your warning signs properly then you may be entitled to claim compensation.
Throughout the UK, most pregnancies and childbirths go as planned, but if you or your child have been affected and suffered from an injury due to medical mistakes during or after birth, please get in touch with our team as soon as possible.
Making a birth claim can provide you and your family compensation for the suffering, loss of earnings, the cost of rehabilitation or ongoing care, any necessary house adaptations to maximise the chance of recovery and independent living and any future costs as well.
Contact our medical negligence solicitors today and we can talk you through the process, offer assistance on your personal case and find out how we can help you obtain maximum compensation for your pregnancy or birth injury claim.