By Stephen Moreau. Last Updated 24th June 2024. In this updated guide to childbirth brain injury compensation claims, we look at when and how to claim compensation. We also look at compensation amounts awarded for different degrees of injury.
Birth negligence stories can be incredibly upsetting and traumatic. If something has gone wrong while you were giving birth to your child, there can be severe consequences both to you yourself as a mother, the partner of a mother or a baby’s parent. Often, there can be brain damage in babies due to lack of oxygen, as well as other injuries, including cerebral palsy. Sometimes, the mother will suffer birth injuries too. No matter what has happened, if you have been the victim of medical negligence and your child has sustained an injury that could have been prevented, you will be able to make a claim for compensation.
At Legal Expert, we have many years of experience and we have helped many people to get the compensation they deserve. If you have any queries, you can reach us on 0800 073 8804. However, before you do so, make sure you read on to discover everything you need to know about making a childbirth medical negligence claim. Our guide below is split into manageable sections that should cover the most frequent questions surrounding childbirth negligence.
Select A Section
- How Much Compensation Could I Claim For My Child’s Brain Injury?
- What Are Childbirth Brain Injuries?
- What Is Birth Injury Negligence?
- Cerebral Palsy Compensation Claims
- Infant Brain Damage Symptoms
- Childbirth Infant Brain Damage Recovery
- No Win No Fee Traumatic Birth Brain Injuries
- How Legal Expert Can Help You
- Speak To Legal Expert Today
- Resources And Useful Links
How Much Compensation Could I Claim For My Child’s Brain Injury?
If your child suffered a brain injury during childbirth, you can claim on their behalf for their pain and suffering, but also for any financial losses you endure as a result of their injuries.
Their physical pain and suffering will be covered under general damages. This head of compensation is often calculated with help from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which is a document that contains guideline compensation brackets for different injuries and illnesses.
In the table below, you can find some examples of these guideline brackets. Please note that these aren’t guaranteed amounts, and that the first entry in this table isn’t from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries + Special Damages | Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain or Head Injury | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,100 |
| Brain or Head Injury | Moderately Severe | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Brain or Head Injury | Moderate (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 |
| Brain or Head Injury | Moderate (ii) | £110,720 to £183,190 |
| Brain or Head Injury | Moderate (iii) | £52,550 to £110,720 |
| Brain or Head Injury | Less Severe | £18,700 to £52,550 |
| Brain or Head Injury | Minor | £2,690 to £15,580 |
The second head of claim that you could pursue if your child suffered a brain injury during childbirth is special damages. This heading covers the financial losses that are caused by their injuries.
For example, a life-changing brain injury can facilitate a need for constant professional nursing care, which can come at a high price. In this case, special damages could completely cover all future medical and nursing costs for your child.
This heading could also cover the cost of:
- Lost earnings.
- Counselling.
- Prescriptions and further medical care.
- Travel.
- Mobility aids for your child, like wheelchairs and crutches.
- Home adjustments.
Evidence will need to be provided of these financial losses with documents such as invoices and bank statements.
Our team of advisors can offer more advise on what you could claim for when you get in touch today. Alternatively, you can read on for more information on making a medical negliegnce claim.
What Are Childbirth Brain Injuries?
There are a number of different ways that infant brain damage can happen. This includes physical trauma, infant jaundice, and oxygen deprivation that are suffered during labour and delivery, as well as infections within the mother’s body.
The result of brain trauma can differ in severity dramatically, often causing a number of different psychological issues and disabilities. In order to be able to make a claim, you need to show that the injuries have been caused because of negligence on behalf of one or several of the healthcare professionals whose care you were in.
What Is Birth Injury Negligence?
Medical negligence during childbirth relates to any actions or lack of action by the hospital staff that has resulted in damage to the child or an injury to the mother during birth. Examples include the following:
- Hip dysplasia
- Fractures to the baby during delivery
- Injuries to the baby during delivery
- Cerebral palsy
- Brain injuries
- Misdiagnosing pre-eclampsia
- Retained instruments – swabs
- Anaesthetic errors
- Infections
- Injuries to organs during a C-section
- Fissures
- Perineal tears
- Episiotomy errors
- Suturing errors
Childbirth brain injury compensation claims could be made in respect of these and other injuries.
Cerebral Palsy Compensation Claims
We have helped a lot of people to launch cerebral palsy claims and get the compensation they deserve. This is because it is one of the conditions that is most frequently linked to birth injuries.
In these cases, the child is likely to develop disabilities that are permanent as they grow older, impacting their posture, body balance, and muscle movements. For more information about making a cerebral palsy claim, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Infant Brain Damage Symptoms
There are a number of different infant brain damage symptoms that can be experienced. However, these symptoms and the severity of them will depend on how the brain damage occurred. Nevertheless, it is still important to know about the signs of brain damage in toddlers. Three common symptoms are as follows:
- Delays in development– Some babies, for example, may not be able to crawl or smile appropriately for their age. Of course, it is critical to remember that not all babies are going to hit developmental milestones at the same time.
- Physical appearance – In some cases, babies suffering from brain damage will look totally fine. However, there are also a lot of cases whereby a clear sign of brain damage is abnormal physical appearance. For example, infants with brain damage can have an abnormally large forehead, a deformed spinal cord, deformed facial features, difficulty focusing their eyes, or unusually small skulls.
- Abnormal temperament– Another sign that your infant could have brain damage is if they have an abnormal temperament, for example, high-pitched wails and crying combined with being extremely fussy and refusing nourishment.
No Win, No Fee Traumatic Birth Brain Injuries
When you choose to make a claim with Legal Expert, one thing you can be certain of is our No Win, No Fee approach will always apply to your service. For those who are unaware, this means that you only need to pay legal fees if your case is a success. There are a number of advantages associated with this, including the following:
- No money needed to start your claim – It is believed that approximately seven in ten people who are entitled to compensation never claim. One of the main reasons for this is because they don’t have enough cash to start a childbirth brain injury claim. Yet, you don’t need a penny to start a claim with a No Win, No Fee solicitor.
- Financial risk eliminated – One of the main reasons why so many people opt to use a No Win, No Fee service is because of the fact that they will not have to pay any money if the claim is an unsuccessful one. If you have suffered an injury through no fault of your own, there is no denying that you will already be distressed enough as it is. You certainly don’t want to be worrying about the potential financial ruin you could experience if you had to pay for a personal injury solicitor yet they failed to file a successful claim. Luckily, you don’t have to worry about any of this.
- Better service guaranteed – Another benefit associated with No Win, No Fee is the fact that you are assured to experience a much better service. Why is this the case? Well, a personal injury lawyer working to this payment structure is going to work as hard as possible to make sure your case is a success, as they obviously want to get paid. However, if you opt to use the services of a traditional solicitor, the outcome of the case does not affect the amount they are paid.
For further information on no win no fee childbirth brain injury compensation claims please contact us.
How Legal Expert Can Help You
There may be many personal injury claims companies to choose from, but there is only one that can promise the best service every time, and this is Legal Expert. Here are some of the reasons why you should make a claim via us:
- Free Advice – One of the best things about Legal Expert is the fact that our advice is free. All you need to do is call one of our friendly and experienced advisors. They will talk you through your claim and answer any queries you may have.
- No Win, No Fee – If you choose to use Legal Expert, we will provide you with a No Win, No Fee personal injury lawyer. This is crucial, as it ensures you do not pay if your claim is unsuccessful. Moreover, you won’t need any money to begin your case either. This is the best option to go for, as risk is diminished and you know you will benefit from the best possible service.
- Experience – We have helped thousands of personal injury victims ever since we opened our doors. This should put your mind at ease, as you know your claim is in safe hands. You aren’t taking a gamble with us, as our solicitors who have up to 30 years of specialist experience will have handled cases similar to yours many, many times before.
- Great reputation – We are proud to boast an impeccable reputation. This is built on integrity, reliability, dependability, and accountability. In fact, we encourage you to read our customer reviews.
- Convenient – Last but not least, we provide one of the most convenient services you will find in the industry. All you need to do to make a claim is ring the number that was mentioned earlier in the post and at the end of this guide. We know you have a lot to cope with at the moment, so we aim to keep everything as straightforward as we can.
Speak To Legal Expert Today
We hope that this guide to childbirth brain injury claims has helped you. We hope to have also provided you with the latest figures on childbirth brain injury compensation amounts.
Are you ready to make a childbirth brain injury claim? If so, we are ready and waiting to help you get the compensation that you are entitled to. We have a team of experienced and dedicated advisors that can be reached seven days per week, from 9.00 a.m. until 9.00 p.m., on 0800 073 8804.
There are plenty of other ways you can get in touch with us too, aside from solely by phone. Head to our contact page for more information. We also have a live chat facility on our website, as well as the option to request a call-back free of charge.
Resources And Useful Links
We hope that you have found this guide informative while looking for information on childbirth brain injury compensation claims. However, we know that you may be looking for some extra details. The websites below should be useful to you:
More on Birth Injury Claims– This link takes you to our guide on birth injuries caused by medical negligence. You will find information on the different types of childbirth injuries that can occur, including brain injuries as well as other types of injuries.
Hospital Negligence Claims – Our updated guide to hospital negligence claims looks and when and how to make a claim.
NHS – Cerebral Palsy– This link takes you to the NHS website where you will find details on cerebral palsy, including symptoms, causes, and much more. It covers how it is diagnosed, how to care for a child with cerebral palsy and a lot of other information.
NHS Resolution Information On Birth Brain Injuries – This NHS Resolution resource looks at avoidable brain injuries which happened during childbirth.
NHS Improvement – Information on neonatal and maternity injuries as well as deaths.
Thank you for reading our guide about childbirth brain injury compensation claims.
