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
In the UK, 1 in every 750 babies is born with erb-duchenne palsy or erb’s palsy for short. Erb’s palsy is typically the result of a birth trauma that can dramatically affect the quality of your child’s life. Our specialist team of erb’s palsy solicitors is recognised by Legal 500 as one of the top medical negligence solicitors in England and Wales. We are here to help you get the compensation that you need to give your child with erb-duchenne palsy the best chance in life.
Your doctor may refer to erb’s palsy by its medical name, brachial plexus paralysis. The paralysis affects the main nerves in the arm, which are responsible for feeling and movement. Depending on the extent of the damage, the loss of movement could be spread to the full arm or only partial areas. Some babies can recover on their own, while others require extensive therapy. Rapid diagnosis and timely, controlled medical intervention can help most regain movement. However, for parents, the associated care costs are extensive. This is precisely where our compassionate and determined erb’s palsy solicitors can make a big difference to your family.
To start an erb’s palsy compensation claim, please get in touch with our medical negligence solicitors by calling 01253 766 559 or completing this form.
To start a erb’s palsy compensation 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"
Erb’s palsy can be a result of an avoidable birth injury in some cases. Several factors can contribute to the damage caused to the nerves in your baby’s arm:
We have extensive specialist knowledge in this complex area of law to support parents and their families. The team consists of both medical and legal birth injury experts who combine their rich knowledge to help achieve justice for clients. With in excess of 25 years’ experience as leading birth injuries specialists, we are committed to supporting families every step of the way to gain the compensation that they are entitled to meet their child’s needs both now and in the future.
We have a strong track record of securing multi-million-pound settlements for our clients following preventable incidents of medical negligence. We often feature in the news to raise awareness of maternity care issues and helping our clients to tell their story following a successful settlement.
We can provide compassionate straightforward guidance through the entire process of making an erb’s palsy negligence claims, giving you the best chance of a fair outcome.
The claims process will typically involve:
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.
We understand that some families may be reluctant to file a claim. Many of our clients have not been successful with their previous solicitors who may have failed to obtain the evidence required to win a claim. We have a strong track record of securing substantial £multi-million settlements where previous solicitors have failed or have simply given up.
If you believe that excessive force was applied during your child’s birth or that the medical staff failed to advise you about the associated risks for your baby, our approachable and compassionate team are here to help. Significant birth injury claims can be pursued up to three years after your child’s 18th birthday if mental capacity has not been affected. If we believe that you have a claim, we will undertake meticulous research with independent medical experts to scrutinise the medical reports and the medical decisions made before, during, and after your child’s birth.
We understand that for most families, the thought of extensive legal costs is daunting. We operate on a no win no fee basis. We also ensure that families receive interim payments before a final settlement is secured.
To hear more from the families that we have helped click here.
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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
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If you believe that your child has erb’s palsy as a result of medical negligence at birth, contact our empathetic team of experts 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.