Legal Overview of Birth Injury Litigation

If you decide to go down the legal route, I would suggest seeing several solicitors to see if you feel comfortable with them and have confidence in them.  Of course, it is impossible to guarantee you will find the right solicitor, but all I would say is choose a firm which has a long and good track record, and most of all, a speciality in birth injury.  I cannot stress enough how complex these cases can be and how long they take.  AvMA (Action against Medical Accidents) has advice on getting the best solicitor for your case.  See their dedicated page in my ‘Overview’ section. Traditional cases can take many years, so getting started early is important. Claims for children have different limitation rules from adult claims. A claim can normally be brought on a child’s behalf while they are under 18. If it has not been brought by then, the usual three-year limitation period generally begins when the child reaches 18, giving them until 21 to bring a claim in their own name. There are important exceptions, particularly where the person lacks capacity, so it is important to take specialist legal advice about the individual circumstances.

If the Early Notification Scheme takes on the case and it is settled via NHS Resolution, the case may be resolved far quicker, which is how it should be.  The adversarial nature of civil law does not help parents in the slightest. 

If you just wish to discuss the birth with the medical team, PALS or your midwife will help facilitate a meeting to discuss what you feel went wrong.  You can also order a copy of your medical notes.  This can sometimes help, but often you are not given everything, and the notes may be difficult to interpret.  If you are with a solicitor, they can order the notes in full and will have an expert interpret them.  I would advise the latter course, as you will get a fuller picture.  

For Negligence to be proven your case needs to fulfil certain criteria.

For more information see ‘principles of negligence’/Negligence Chain

To have a claim for the child, there must generally be an injury or loss caused by the negligent act or omission.  If no harm has occurred, there will be no claim for the child.     However, it can take some time for an injury to show, such as hearing or visual issues, or learning disabilities.  

We all want maternity services to improve and for these avoidable mistakes to stop.  The number of damning reports into maternity services over the past few years is heart breaking for parents to read if they have also suffered harm, but the message is a clear one.  Mothers should be listened to and basic mistakes should not happen. 

These links will take you to the various legal areas, plus links to significant Maternity Reports.