Pregnancy & Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can be life-changing and often very traumatic for the injured person and their family.

• Different types of pregnancy and birth injuries

  The different types of injuries that can be sustained include:

  • Cerebral palsy
  • Erb’s palsy
  • Stillbirth
  • Injuries to the baby whilst in the Neonatal Unit
  • Neonatal death
  • Damage to the mother’s pelvic area, bowel or bladder
  • Maternal death

• Cause of pregnancy and birth Injuries

  When birth injuries occur, the causes can often be a result of:

  • A failure to provide the mother with adequate antenatal screening and care
  • A failure to diagnose pre-eclampsia
  • Inappropriate use of forceps or ventouse resulting in damage to the baby or the mother
  • The baby’s shoulder becomes stuck (shoulder dystocia) causing injury to the baby’s brachial plexus
  • Delays in delivery causing the baby to be deprived of oxygen
  • A failure to diagnose or treat low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) in the baby
  • A failure to diagnose or treat jaundice (hyperbilirubinemia and kernicterus) in the baby

How our solicitors can help with birth injury claims

At Nelsons, our experienced team of medical negligence solicitors investigate and successfully pursue birth injury claims for children and mothers injured during childbirth.

Our expert team is recognised by The Law Society, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), Headway, The Foundation for Infant Loss Training, Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 for our work involving injured babies and children. We are one of a few specialist firms that are still able to offer Legal Aid in cases involving babies.

We have clients based all over the country and we are always happy to visit clients in hospitals or their own homes.

We instruct the most experienced independent medical experts, who will review your medical records and comment on the standard of care that you received and whether this was negligent in causing you injury. We use highly experienced barristers who we may instruct to work with us on your claim.

When it comes to valuing your claim we often instruct a number of independent experts who will comment on the nature and extent of your injuries, your future prognosis and your short and long-term needs.

Often in these cases, the Court will order that the injured person should receive a lump sum payment of compensation plus an amount each year (periodical payments) for the rest of their life, to ensure that their ongoing needs are met. We achieved what was believed at the time to be the highest award of periodical payments ever to be made by the NHS Litigation Authority to an injured patient in one such case.

Testimonials…

Making a birth injury claim

Our team of specialist solicitors are always available to discuss the circumstances of your potential birth injury claim either over the phone, via email or where appropriate at a meeting.

We offer: