A Guide To Pregnancy Negligence Claims
If you or your baby have been harmed as a result of maternity negligence, our expert medical negligence solicitors are here to help.
£85 million in compensation
A Guide To Pregnancy Negligence Claims
If you or your baby have been harmed as a result of maternity negligence, our expert medical negligence solicitors are here to help.
A Guide To Maternity Negligence Before And After Pregnancy
When you’re expecting a baby, you understandably want the best care possible. But what are you supposed to do when the care you receive causes more harm than good?
In this guide, we’ll tell you everything that you need to know about making pregnancy negligence claims, from what medical negligence means all the way up to how to fund the help of a legal expert.
Key Takeaways
- Maternity negligence can include harm to you or your baby during pregnancy
- You can make a claim if you or your baby suffered avoidable harm
- Your compensation can depend on the severity of the harm and how much evidence you have
- A No Win No Fee solicitor can help you claim without any upfront fees
Keep reading to learn more about making a maternity negligence compensation claim. Or, contact our team to start your free consultation by:
- Calling us on 0151 375 9916
- Contacting us online
What Is Meant By Maternity Negligence?
Maternity negligence is a kind of medical negligence. A common misconception about maternity negligence is that it only affects babies, but this isn’t true; maternity negligence can also include harm to the mother during pregnancy or birth.
Medical negligence occurs when a medical professional, including nurses, doctors, and midwives, fail to provide an acceptable standard of care, causing harm that otherwise would have been avoided to their patients. Different kinds of professionals will need to take different steps to uphold this duty of care– for example, midwives are given guidance on standards from the Nursing and Midwifery Council. However, the standard of care remains the same.
As long as you can prove that you or your child were unnecessarily harmed by a medical professional breaching their duty of care, you could make a pregnancy negligence claim.
Keep reading for more information on what pregnancy negligence claims can look like, or contact a member of our team to find out if you could claim.
What Harm Can Occur Due To Maternity Negligence?
Pregnancy negligence claims can be made for various injuries and kinds of harm, including:
Injuries During Pregnancy
Injuries or harm caused during the pregnancy. For example, this could look like:
- Misdiagnosis of conditions like an ectopic pregnancy, which could result in a ruptured fallopian tube.
- Miscarriage caused by negligent behaviour, e.g. failing to advise the mother on pregnancy and any dietary changes she may need to make
- Medication errors, e.g. overdosing the mother on a medication that leads her to miscarry
Injuries During Labour
Injuries or harm during labour, including:
- Caesarean-section surgery negligence, e.g. failing to refer the mother for a C-section if natural birth is not tenable
- Failing to monitor the baby’s heartbeat so foetal distress goes unnoticed, leading to a brain injury
- Gynaecological injuries, such as undue tearing and pelvic fractures
Postnatal Injuries
Injuries or harm immediately after the birth, including:
- Haemorrhaging that is not diagnosed or noticed in time
- Misdiagnosis of conditions like sepsis
- Mishandling of baby, causing broken bones or bruises
Our team of sensitive advisors are here to help. If you’d like to learn more about claiming for maternity or pregnancy negligence, contact us today.
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How To Make Pregnancy Negligence Claims
Proving that negligence occurred is one of the most important parts of handling maternity negligence claims. This is because you can only make a claim if:
- A medical professional owed you or your baby a duty of care
- They failed to uphold this duty
- As a result, you or your child suffered avoidable harm
So, how can you prove that you received negligent treatment? Collecting evidence is a crucial step in the claims process and can include things like:
- Relevant medical records
- Witness details, for example, the details of someone who was in the delivery room with you
- The results of scans and tests
- Medical charts from hospital admittance
- Hand-held pregnancy notes
Can I Sue The NHS For Maternity Negligence?
It doesn’t matter whether you were receiving care from an NHS facility or a private hospital; as long as you can prove that maternity negligence occurred, your right to compensation remains the same.
Our solicitors have decades of experience, and our clinical negligence department is ready to help you prove your claim. From collecting witness statements to arranging an independent medical assessment, they can make sure that your claim has the best possible chance of succeeding.
How Much Compensation Could I Get For Negligence Before Or After Pregnancy?
Care that falls below the expected standard can lead to various types of injury, in both mum or baby. For example, if baby suffers very severe brain damage, the injury alone could be awarded between £344,150 to £493,000 (based on figures provided by the Judicial College Guidelines).
Additionally, maternity negligence compensation can be made up of two heads of claim. The first head is called general damages, and this goes to all successful claimants. General damages are aimed towards the pain and suffering you or your baby endured because of your injuries.
This heading also accounts for loss of amenity. This means the way your injuries have affected your ability to enjoy things like hobbies or socialising with friends.
When general damages are calculated, professionals often use a tool called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) for help. This is because the JCG provides a list of guideline compensation brackets for different injuries and illnesses of varying degrees of severity.
Below, we’ve set out some of these guideline brackets. Please keep in mind that these are not guaranteed, and the top entry was not taken from the JCG.
Injury Compensation Guideline Notes
Multiple Injuries and Special Damages up to £10,000,000 and more Settlements could compensate for more than one very serious injury along with related expenses, like life-long nursing care and home alterations.
Very Severe Brain Damage £344,150 to £493,000 There is very little if any response to the claimant’s surroundings, no language function, and a need for full-time care.
Paraplegia £267,340 to £346,890 The award in this bracket depends on things like the degree of independence, psychological effects, and the presence of pain.
Female Reproductive Injuries (a) £140,210 to £207,260 Infertility that is either caused by disease or injury, leading to severe depression and sexual dysfunction.
Female Reproductive Injuries (f) £4,140 to £24,930 A delayed diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy that does not cause infertility but does cause pain, bleeding, and psychological effects.
Severe Pelvis And Hip Injuries (i) £95,680 to £159,770 Extensive pelvic fractures include ruptured lower back joints and a ruptured bladder.
Severe Pelvis And Hip Injuries (ii) £75,550 to £95,680 Pelvic injuries only a little less extensive than in the category above, such as fracture dislocation leading to impotence.
Severe Psychiatric Damage £66,920 to £141,240 Severe symptoms affect every aspect of the claimant’s daily life.
Severe PTSD £73,050 to £122,850 The claimant is unable to function as they did before the trauma, and cannot partake in a normal social or working life.
One Single Disfiguring Scar £9,560 to £27,740 A single disfiguring scar on the back or the chest would fall under this bracket.
The second head of claim that you could be eligible for is called special damages. This heading covers the financial losses you suffered as a result of the harm, including things like the cost of:
- Lost earnings
- Childcare
- Private healthcare or further medical expenses, like prescriptions
- Travel
- Home adjustments
- Mobility aids
- In some cases, it can cover long-term items, such as nursing care.
If you would like to learn more about compensation in pregnancy negligence claims, contact our team of advisors today. Or, keep reading to learn about the benefits of making a birth injury compensation claim.
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How Will A Maternity Negligence Claim Help Me?
Pregnancy negligence claims can be helpful in a number of ways. First and foremost, a successful claim can bring a sense of justice; even though an admission of liability won’t undo the harm done to you or your child, it can help make sure that other families do not face the same hardship.
Compensation can also help you cover the cost of things like rehabilitation and nursing care. In some severe cases, maternity negligence can lead to life-changing injuries. The compensation you gain from a successful clinical negligence claim can help you afford necessary help, from home adjustments to round-the-clock professional care.
Would you like to learn more about how a maternity negligence claim could help you? Contact our team of advisors today.
How Do I Start My Pregnancy Negligence Claim?
How you start your claim depends on whether you are claiming for yourself or on behalf of your child. If you are claiming for harm that you have suffered, then you’ll have three years to start the claim for yourself, as per the Limitation Act 1980. This starts on either the date that the negligence occurred, or the date that you realised you were harmed because of the negligent actions of medical professionals. This is also known as the date of knowledge.
We always recommend seeking legal advice before starting a claim, and our expert No Win No Fee solicitors are here to help.
What If I Am Claiming For My Child?
If you are claiming on behalf of your child, the three-year time limit doesn’t apply. In fact, you can claim on their behalf at any point up until their 18th birthday. However, you’ll need to apply to act as their litigation friend.
As a litigation friend, it is your responsibility to do things like communicate with their solicitor and make decisions that are in your child’s best interests. If this claim succeeds, then your child’s compensation will be held in trust by the Government until they turn 18.
We can help you act as a litigation friend or make a claim for yourself. Contact our team of advisors today to learn more.
How Can I Fund My Pregnancy Or Birth Negligence Claim?
Making a medical negligence claim won’t cost you anything, but seeking legal representation might. A common misconception is that finding expert legal help will always cause significant financial strain, but this just isn’t true.
At JF Law, we believe that everyone deserves to have access to high-quality legal help when they need it. That’s why our solicitors offer their services under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This kind of arrangement means that you get all the benefits of working with an expert solicitor from our clinical negligence department without paying them:
- Any upfront fees for their services
- Any fees as the claim is ongoing
- Anything at all for their work if your claim fails
If it succeeds, you’ll pay a small success fee. This is deducted straight from your compensation, and the percentage your solicitor can take is capped by law, leaving the majority share to you.
So, why choose us? We have already recovered over £80 million in compensation for our clients, including countless medical negligence claims, and our reviews speak for themselves. At JF Law, your case is our priority, and our No Win No Fee solicitors are here to help.
Contact Us
Our team are here to help. If you’re ready to start your clinical negligence compensation claim, or if you want to learn more about pregnancy negligence claims, get in touch today by:
- Calling us on 0151 375 9916
- Contacting us online
Learn More
For more helpful medical negligence guides:
- Learn how to claim for epilepsy misdiagnosis with our guide
- Find out how to make a cancer misdiagnosis compensation claim
- Get help with making a delayed cancer diagnosis claim
Or for further resources:
- Learn about pregnancy from the NHS
- Get help with making a complaint to the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- Get support from baby loss charity Sands
Thank you for reading our guide to pregnancy negligence claims.
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