Addressing fear culture in maternity services critical to preventing birth injuries in 2021
The Morecambe Bay maternity scandal came to light in 2015. Sadly since then, three investigations have been launched into the care delivered in three NHS
Every parent looks forward to the birth of their child and the moment that they can meet their child for the first time. But what should be a moment of joy and happiness can turn into a nightmare if your baby suffers a preventable brain injury. Our team of brain injury experts understand that brain damage that occurs before, during or just after birth can have devastating consequences for the whole family. We understand that managing the complex needs of your child can feel relentless and both emotionally and financially costly.
Every parent wants to provide the very best for their child however, meeting the extensive care needs of a child who has suffered a brain injury is beyond the practical and financial means of most families. Help is available and our team of specialists are here to support you every step of the way. We have a strong track record of securing £multi-million settlements for families in these sad circumstances with over 25 years’ experience in this complex area of law.
When the injury could have been prevented had the appropriate level of medical care been provided, you are entitled to compensation to help meet the needs of your child – both now and in the future.
To start a brain injury at birth claim, please get in touch with our medical negligence solicitors by calling 01253 766 559 or completing this form.
To start a brain injury at birth claim today, or for more information simply complete the form below.
"Diane Rostron has a rare combination of excellent judgement, tenaciousness, and compassion for her clients."
"The team provides an excellent and responsive service."
"Diane Rostron provides a consistent professional approach to all cases. She is noted to have a thorough understanding of their current situation and works tirelessly to find solutions to immediate difficulties they may be facing. Diane ensures that the clients are up to date with the progression of their case and is happy to speak to them directly if required"
A significant, and irreversible, brain injury will have a profound impact on the whole family. Some of the conditions that occur as a result of this serious injury include:
Brain injuries that occur before, during or just after birth are thankfully rare. When these incidents occur, it can be due to medical errors which could and should have been avoided. This can include inadequate monitoring of mother and baby during pregnancy and labour; delayed medical intervention; a failure to make a correct diagnosis or often sadly, a failure to provide medical staff of the appropriate seniority to deliver the necessary care.
Our team of brain injury experts carefully review your hospital records and work with some of the best medical experts to gain a better understanding of what happened to your baby to determine whether it should have been prevented. Our expertise in these complex matters gives families the best chance to gain both desperately needed answers, and the compensation that your family is entitled to to make life a little easier.
We fight to secure the compensation that your family needs to cover the extensive costs of meeting your child’s care needs. This includes a range of specialist therapies, equipment, carers and home adaptations. We consider your child’s lifelong needs to provide you with the peace of mind that they will be looked after both now and in the future.
In some cases, there are clear symptoms that indicate something is seriously wrong. This can include your baby being floppy after they are born or they may have been making grunting noises. In other cases, it takes some time before the injury is discovered or the full impact is realised.
There are some tell-tale signs to look out for. Your child may develop neurological problems or miss key milestones. A child with brain damage can find it hard to control their limbs or bodily functions for example or have cognitive and behavioural issues. A brain injury at birth claim does not have any time limit if the child has lost mental capacity as a result. If mental capacity is unaffected however, you have three years from your child’s 18th birthday to make a brain injury claim. If you have been injured during your child’s birth, you have three years from the date of the injury or date of knowledge of the injury to make a claim.
Liam is a young man who was starved of oxygen at birth and developed cerebral palsy as a result. The £multi-million compensation we secured helped equip Liam’s family and home to cater to his complex needs to help him have as fulfilling a life as possible. You can hear more about Liam’s story here.
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We will discuss your case with you, including the errors you believe were made during your child’s birth and the effect this has had on their health, wellbeing and ability to function day-to-day. We will then provide an honest assessment of whether we think you have a claim worth further investigation and explain the claims process and fees involved.
We will bring together all the essential evidence to support your erb’s palsy claim, including medical records, witness statements and evidence from independent medical experts.
We will then contact the NHS Trust or healthcare provider that you believe is responsible for your child’s erb’s palsy in writing. This letter will detail the alleged medical negligence and the resulting injury to your child.
The defendant has 4 months to investigate your claim and to provide a response. This will generally either involve them accepting full or partial liability and offering a financial settlement or denying responsibility. If a settlement is offered, we will advise you on whether we think it is reasonable and, if not, what further action can be taken.
If you are not satisfied with the defendant’s response and any offer of compensation, we can issue court proceedings. The defendant will have 28 days to respond, after which the court will set a date for a hearing. Typically, your hearing date will be around 18 months after proceedings are initiated.
In most cases where a claim has reached this stage, we will be able to secure a pre-trial settlement allowing you to avoid a court hearing. We have a very strong negotiating team to help ensure any settlement reached meets your child’s lifelong needs.
If your claim cannot be resolved outside a court hearing, we can offer experienced and highly skilled advocacy to secure the best possible outcome for your family.
The Morecambe Bay maternity scandal came to light in 2015. Sadly since then, three investigations have been launched into the care delivered in three NHS
The High Court has approved an £8 million settlement for a seven-year-old child today, Monday 11th January, during a virtual hearing following a serious birth
Life for the parents of a child with cerebral palsy is changed forever and life for a child with cerebral palsy can often be very
If you suspect that your child suffered a preventable brain injury at birth, we can help. You can contact our team of medical and legal brain injury experts for a free initial consultation by calling 01253 766 559 or completing the form below.
After your first contact with my office, we will take outline details from you about what you believe has gone wrong. We will then apply for the medical records. Obtaining them can take about a couple of months.
When we receive the records, we carefully organise and review them to make sure they are complete. A meeting is then arranged to go through the records with you and to discuss your recollection of what happened. We will prepare a statement for you.
Experts in the relevant fields of medicine will help us assess what happened. For example, we may need to refer to an obstetrician, a midwife, a neonatologist, a neurologist, a surgeon or a GP. When we have obtained experts opinions, we will have a meeting with you, the experts, our junior barrister and often our QC.
This meeting is known as a Conference. It is designed to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the case and after that meeting we will draft a letter to the hospital setting out what happened.
To get to this stage can take 12 months or more. The hospital is supposed to reply to our letter within four months, but they rarely do. Their reply may admit that mistakes were made and that this caused injury. More often, however, the reply will deny that there were such mistakes.
When that happens, we have to issue court proceedings. This involves drafting ‘Particulars of Claim’, a document setting out the case. After we have served proceedings the hospital has 28 days to file a ‘Defence’. They often ask for an extension of time to do this.
The court will set a timetable for the management of the case. Many steps have to be taken. The timetable is usually about 18 months to the actual hearing of the case. During this time we will exchange witness statements and experts’ reports with the hospital. Our legal experts will have a discussion with the hospital’s experts to try and see what can be agreed. Our experience is that cases can be settled at any stage. If there is no settlement, there is a trial by a judge (no jury).
The judge reads and hears all the evidence and reaches a conclusion (hopefully in our favour).
I do my best to achieve success. A successful case can transform lives.