
We represented a family at an inquest that found systemic failings led to the death of their daughter.
We represented the family at an inquest in south Wales which concluded that their one day old first born child had died as a result
Home » Brain Injury At Birth
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.
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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After you get in touch with us, we will listen to you and discuss your situation, including the healthcare advice you were given, and any evidence of negligent treatment.
We will need to apply for your medical records from various places, including the place you had treatment, other hospitals, and your GP practice.
We will then provide an honest assessment of whether we think you have a claim worth further investigation. We will explain the claims process and the fees involved.
We will start collecting evidence to support your claim. This typically includes applying for any further medical records, other documents from the hospital, obtaining witness statements and independent medical experts’ reports.
Once the facts of the case are clear, we will contact the NHS Trust or healthcare provider to inform them a claim is being investigated. The Letter of Claim (LOC) will set out the details of the alleged medical negligence and the injuries caused.
The Defendant is required to respond to our Letter of Claim (LOC) within four months. At this stage, they will either accept full, or partial, liability and may offer a financial settlement, or deny responsibility.
If the Defendant denies responsibility, or does not offer a sufficient settlement amount, we can then issue court proceedings on your behalf to take the claim further. The Defendant will be given 28 days to respond, and the court will then set a hearing date, usually around 18 months from when proceedings are initiated.
It is important to note that while issuing court proceedings is an essential step, it is rare that you will need to attend a hearing as most claims that reach this stage can be resolved with a pre-trial settlement.
The Court will then set a timetable for the exchange of evidence in the case. We will exchange any witness statement taken from you, and receive the witness statements (if any), of the clinicians involved in your care.
There will then be an exchange of medical expert evidence. Each party can obtain independent medical expert reports in each relevant discipline. For example, in a birth injury claim, both parties would have commissioned reports from independent obstetricians. We disclose the report we have obtained on your behalf and the Defendant has to disclose the report they have obtained.
The independent experts then have a meeting, separate to each party’s legal representatives, to narrow the issues for the Judge in the event the case goes to a trial. After this meeting, the medical experts have to produce a jointly written statement to provide to the Judge.
It is usual procedure to attend some form of pre-trial settlement resolution with the Defendant, either in the form of a settlement meeting, or a mediation. We have a very strong track record of negotiating pre-trial settlements and will explore every potential avenue to do so if your claim reaches this stage.
If your claim settles at this stage and involves a vulnerable party, such as a child or an adult with a brain injury, an approval hearing will be held by a High Court Judge to approve the settlement reached.
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.
Most claims are resolved in full through the above process. However, very complex claims, including birth injury claims, require an additional step to assess the quantification (value) of the claim.
For birth injury claims, additional independent medical experts will be required to assess issues such as life expectancy and care needs, and the process above will be repeated for the stage of quantification.
We represented the family at an inquest in south Wales which concluded that their one day old first born child had died as a result
We were delighted to secure £20 million for an eight year old boy who suffered permanent brain damage at birth due to medical negligence in
The High Court in London has approved a medical negligence compensation claim for £20 million for an eight year old boy brain damaged just before
There are often red flags when a serious birth injury has occurred. It is important for parents to be aware of how birth injury symptoms
Complex birth injuries specialist with 25+ years' expertise. Recognised by Legal 500.
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