The risks of incorrectly conducted caesarean sections
A caesarean section is a common and often life-saving procedure. When carried out correctly, it can protect both mother and baby. However, when mistakes are
28th January 2026
During a pregnancy, antenatal checks and tests serve a dual purpose: they help to make sure that the mother is healthy, and they also assess the development and wellbeing of the baby, including screening for specific health conditions. When medical staff fail to detect a serious problem during a pregnancy, parents lose the right to make an informed decision about the health and wellbeing of their family.
A wrongful birth claim can come in two different categories, one of which is when hospital staff have failed to inform parents about a serious physical or cognitive disability which could have, otherwise, caused them to seriously consider whether to continue the pregnancy.
Our specialist team of experts understand how difficult the situation can be for parents who face a radically different set of expectations for their child, and their family’s future. A child who has a significant birth defect of a genetic or structural nature can require extensive and costly care that goes beyond the care you would give to a healthy child.
We understand that your child’s complex needs dramatically affect your entire family and that their care needs will feel relentless at times. It is not uncommon for one parent to stop working in order to look after the complex needs of their child on a full-time basis in these circumstances, something that you would not have considered nor planned for if medical staff failed in their duty of care to you and your baby.
To start a wrongful birth compensation claim, or simply to find out more, please get in touch today by calling 01253 766 559 or emailing completing the contact form.
Both mother and baby should be carefully monitored throughout a pregnancy and detectable significant disabilities should be picked up at the earliest opportunity and discussed in full with the parents. These conditions include serious genetic or congenital diseases such as:
Wrongful birth claims do not compensate for the ordinary costs of raising a healthy child but will include the costs involved in meeting your child’s complex needs, both now and in the future, This will consider the cost of necessary therapies, such as speech and language therapy, hydrotherapy and physiotherapy; home adaptations and specialist equipment such as wheelchairs and bathing equipment.
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To proceed with a wrongful birth claim, our experts need to establish that there has been medical negligence. In wrongful birth cases, our specialists focus on the failure to detect the problem at a stage in the pregnancy when they should have and then on the failure to inform the parents in a way which they understand, depriving the parents of their right to make an informed choice about continuing with the pregnancy or seeking a therapeutic termination.
Our wrongful birth claim team will support you every step of the way and have a strong track record of securing £multi-million medical negligence settlements.
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.
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Complex birth injuries specialist, 30 years' expertise. Recognised by Legal 500 as leading expert.
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