A birth injury can have a profound impact on a child, mother and wider family. Where concerns arise about care during pregnancy, labour, delivery or the period shortly after birth, it can be difficult to know what happened, whether mistakes were made and what steps can be taken.
Not every difficult or traumatic birth means there has been medical negligence. However, if the care provided fell below an acceptable standard and caused avoidable harm, a birth injury claim may be possible.
Havard Law Solicitors helps families investigate concerns about maternity and newborn care. We can explain the process clearly, obtain the relevant medical records, arrange independent expert evidence where needed, and support you through the claim in a sensitive and practical way.
What is a birth injury claim?
A birth injury claim is a medical negligence claim involving harm caused during pregnancy, labour, delivery or shortly after birth.
These claims may involve injury to a baby, injury to a mother, or both. They can relate to care provided by NHS hospitals, private hospitals, midwives, obstetricians, GPs, health visitors or other medical professionals involved in maternity or newborn care.
To bring a successful claim, it is usually necessary to show that the care provided fell below an acceptable standard and that this caused avoidable injury, loss or harm.
Birth injury claims can be complex. They often require detailed medical records, expert evidence and careful consideration of what happened at each stage of the pregnancy, birth or postnatal period.
When might you need help?
You may need advice if you have concerns that warning signs were missed, treatment was delayed, risks were not properly managed, or poor care caused injury to a baby or mother.
Birth injury claims can involve delays in recognising fetal distress, delays in carrying out a caesarean section, problems with monitoring a baby’s heartbeat, failure to treat infection, mistakes during forceps or ventouse delivery, shoulder dystocia, lack of oxygen before or during birth, brain injury, cerebral palsy, untreated jaundice, missed diagnosis, maternal injuries, severe tears, poor repair after delivery, failure to manage bleeding, stillbirth or neonatal death.
Some families contact us because a diagnosis has been made and they want to understand whether it may be linked to earlier care. Others contact us because they are still trying to understand what happened and whether the outcome could have been avoided.
You do not need to be certain that negligence occurred before asking for advice. Part of our role is to help investigate the position.
What can compensation cover?
Compensation is intended to reflect the impact of the injury and the support that may be needed.
In claims involving a child, compensation may include the cost of care, therapy, specialist equipment, home adaptations, mobility support, education support, medical treatment, travel expenses, case management and future support needs.
In claims involving injury to a mother, compensation may include pain and suffering, loss of earnings, treatment costs, psychological support, care provided by family members, travel expenses and any longer term impact on daily life.
In serious birth injury cases, compensation may need to provide for lifelong needs. This can make careful expert evidence especially important, as the claim must consider not only what has happened already, but what support may be required in the future.
How Havard Law Solicitors can help
Birth injury claims are often emotional and complex. Families may be looking for answers as well as practical support.
Havard Law Solicitors can listen to your concerns, obtain and review medical records, consider the sequence of events, instruct independent medical experts where appropriate, explain whether a claim may be possible, and deal with the healthcare provider or insurer on your behalf.
We can also help assess the long term impact of the injury, including care, treatment, therapy, equipment, adaptations, education needs, loss of earnings and future support.
We will explain the process in plain English and keep you updated throughout. Our aim is to reduce the pressure on your family and help you make informed decisions at each stage.
Case study: maternal injury following childbirth
Havard Law Solicitors acted for a client following a traumatic birth at hospital.
During delivery, the client required a forceps delivery and an episiotomy. Immediately afterwards, she suffered a sudden and severe haemorrhage. She was transferred to a High Dependency Unit, received a blood transfusion and spent several days in hospital recovering.
The impact was significant. On discharge, the client remained very weak and was unable to care for her newborn baby in the way she had expected.
Some months later, the client passed what appeared to be a retained medical swab. This issue was handled carefully within the claim because the hospital disputed that the swab originated from them. While it could not be relied upon in the same way as an admitted standalone issue, it formed part of the wider concerns about the standard of care provided.
The case required detailed medical expert evidence. It was necessary to investigate whether the hospital had failed in its duty of care, including whether blood loss had been properly monitored and whether specialist help should have been requested sooner.
The psychological impact also had to be considered. The client experienced trauma following the birth and required treatment as part of her recovery.
The hospital’s insurers made an initial offer which was not considered to properly reflect the seriousness of the experience and its impact. Further evidence was gathered and detailed negotiations followed.
After sustained work on the case, a settlement exceeding £93,000 was secured. The settlement reflected the physical and psychological impact of the birth injury, together with the wider effect on the client’s recovery and daily life.
Evidence that can help a birth injury claim
The evidence needed will depend on the circumstances of the case.
Helpful evidence may include pregnancy notes, labour records, delivery notes, newborn care records, hospital letters, GP records, health visitor records, complaint correspondence, photographs, appointment records, prescriptions, therapy records, witness accounts, inquest documents where relevant, and notes about symptoms, recovery and care needs.
In many cases, the most important evidence will come from the medical records and independent expert reports. These help establish what care was provided, whether it was reasonable and whether different care would probably have avoided the injury.
Do not worry if you do not have all the evidence at the start. Havard Law Solicitors can explain what records may be needed and help obtain the relevant documents.
Speak to our birth injury claims team
If you have concerns about care during pregnancy, labour, birth or the period shortly after delivery, it is sensible to get advice as early as possible. Early advice can help preserve evidence and give you a clearer understanding of your options.
To speak to Havard Law Solicitors, call 0151 556 1234 or email info@havardlaw.co.uk with a short summary of what happened, who was involved, when the treatment took place and any documents or correspondence you already have.
A member of the team can review the information and explain the next steps in clear, practical terms.
Birth Injury Claims Solicitors
Compensation can cover the impact of the injury and the support needed now and in the future.
For a child, this may include care, therapy, medical treatment, specialist equipment, home adaptations, mobility support, education support, case management, travel expenses and future support needs.
For a mother, compensation may include pain and suffering, treatment costs, lost earnings, care provided by family members, psychological support and the effect on daily life.
In serious cases, compensation may need to provide for lifelong needs, which is why careful expert evidence is important.
Birth injury claims can take time, especially where the injuries are serious or long term needs are still developing.
Some claims may take several years because medical records, expert evidence, care assessments and future needs all need to be considered carefully.
In claims involving children, it may be necessary to understand how the injury affects development, education, independence and future care needs before the claim can be valued properly.
Havard Law Solicitors will keep you updated throughout and give realistic advice on timescales as the evidence develops.
Many birth injury claims resolve without a final court hearing.
Court proceedings may be needed if the healthcare provider disputes responsibility, disagrees about causation, or if the value of the claim cannot be agreed. Starting court proceedings does not always mean there will be a trial, as many claims still settle before that stage.
In claims involving children, the court may also need to approve a settlement to make sure it is in the child’s best interests.
Havard Law Solicitors will explain each stage clearly and support your family throughout the process.
A claim may be possible where poor medical care caused or contributed to a stillbirth or the death of a baby shortly after birth.
These cases are extremely sensitive and require careful investigation. The medical records, timing of events, monitoring, decision making and expert evidence may all need to be reviewed.
Families may also need support with related processes, such as complaints, inquests or requests for explanations from the hospital.
Havard Law Solicitors can help families understand their options with sensitivity and care.
Yes. A mother may be able to bring a claim if she suffered avoidable injury because of poor care during pregnancy, labour, delivery or the period after birth.
Claims can involve severe tears, poor repair, infection, haemorrhage, delayed treatment, surgical injury, failure to monitor, lack of informed consent or psychological trauma linked to negligent care.
A claim may include compensation for pain and suffering, treatment costs, lost earnings, care provided by family members, psychological support and the longer term impact on daily life.
Havard Law Solicitors can review what happened and advise whether the care should be investigated.
Time limits depend on who was injured and their circumstances.
For children, the usual three year time limit does not normally start until they turn 18. This means they generally have until their 21st birthday to start a claim. A parent or guardian can bring a claim on their behalf before then.
Different rules may apply if the injured person does not have mental capacity to manage their own affairs.
For claims brought by a mother for her own injuries, the usual time limit is generally three years from the date of injury or date of knowledge.
Because time limits can be complicated, it is sensible to take advice as early as possible.
Possibly. Some cerebral palsy cases are linked to events before, during or shortly after birth.
A claim may be possible where poor care caused or contributed to a lack of oxygen, delayed delivery, untreated infection, failure to monitor the baby properly, or another avoidable event that led to brain injury.
Not every case of cerebral palsy is caused by negligence. A careful investigation will usually be needed to understand the likely cause and whether different care would have changed the outcome.
Havard Law Solicitors can help obtain records and arrange expert evidence where appropriate.
Birth injury claims can involve a wide range of injuries affecting a baby, mother or both.
Claims involving a baby may include brain injury, cerebral palsy, lack of oxygen, untreated jaundice, infection, fractures, nerve damage, Erb’s palsy, brachial plexus injury or injuries caused by delayed treatment.
Claims involving a mother may include severe tears, poor repair after delivery, infection, haemorrhage, delayed treatment, avoidable trauma or injuries linked to poor maternity care.
Each case depends on the facts. The key question is whether the injury was caused by care that fell below an acceptable standard.
You may not know at the start whether a mistake was made. Many families contact a solicitor because they have concerns, questions or an unexplained outcome.
Birth injury claims often require careful investigation. This may involve obtaining the medical records, reviewing the timing of events, considering what monitoring took place, and asking independent medical experts to comment on the standard of care.
An investigation can help establish whether the care provided was reasonable and whether a different approach would probably have avoided the injury.
You do not need to have all the answers before seeking advice. Havard Law Solicitors can help you understand what steps may be needed.
Yes, a claim may be possible if your child was injured because of poor medical care during pregnancy, labour, delivery or shortly after birth.
A parent or guardian can usually bring a claim on behalf of a child. This may involve investigating the maternity records, birth records, newborn care records and any later diagnosis or developmental concerns.
The claim will usually need to show that the care provided fell below an acceptable standard and that this caused avoidable harm. Independent medical expert evidence is often needed.
Havard Law Solicitors can explain the process, help obtain records and advise whether there may be grounds to investigate further.
