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pregnant woman
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pregnant woman

Birth injuries

Understanding whether an issue during birth is due to a natural complication or a mistake can be emotionally challenging. Unfortunately, negligence can result in serious birth injuries causing harm to mother or baby.

Our specialist team of solicitors have decades of experience in helping parents, and their children, who have suffered injuries before, during or after birth.

Types of Birth Injury

We have represented a number of parents who were the victims of inadequate or negligent medical care. This also extends to pregnancies where medical conditions were missed or not properly diagnosed such as:

  • Delay in delivery resulting in oxygen starvation or neonatal death
  • Misinterpretation of cardiotocography (baby's heart rate monitor
  • Problems following caesarean sections
  • Inappropriate use of forceps
  • Pre-eclampsia, bladder, bowel or ureter injuries

Examples of Birth Injuries

We appreciate what a stressful time pregnancy can be. Mothers and newborn babies have to put their complete trust in medical and clinical professionals. 

In the minority of cases where, unfortunately, clinical negligence occurs we are here to help. These are some of the more severe and significant injuries that may result from negligence. 

Tears

Tears can naturally happen during labour. However, if you have had a tear and it was missed or misdiagnosed by a medical professional then you may be able to make a claim. The tear might have been prevented if different actions had been taken or your tear might not have been repaired properly which has caused further harm. 

If you are suffering with consistent pain since having your baby as well as bladder or bowel issues, you should seek medical attention.

Cerebral Palsy

A cerebral palsy diagnosis can feel daunting for parents. The condition is caused by damage to the brain and affects the development of movement, posture and coordination.

Unlike other birth injuries, cerebral palsy can take many months or years to diagnose as some of the symptoms may not be obvious until your child is older. It’s a lifelong condition that requires a lot of treatment, and many parents are left wondering how they are going to continue to support their child. Having independent legal support ensures your concerns are heard and makes sure you have the help you need.

Digby Brown also has a long-standing and valued partnership with the charity Cerebral Palsy Scotland as we share a commitment to improving the quality of life for children and adults with cerebral palsy. We have supported the charity for over 10 years and the important work they are doing with families across Scotland.

Erb's Palsy

If your baby has been diagnosed with Erb’s Palsy, it can feel very overwhelming.

Also known as brachial plexus paralysis, primary nerves in the arm are damaged and therefore movement and feeling in the arm is affected. The severity of the damage caused is personal to each baby. There may be tearing to a nerve or there might be severe damage which could cause complete paralysis.

It is no one's fault if your baby has changed position. Medical professionals are trained to deal with these kinds of changes. If during labour you experience shoulder dystocia (an obstetric emergency),   and due to a medical professional’s negligence your baby is then diagnosed with Erb’s Palsy, you may have a claim. 

Pre-Eclampsia

Pre-eclampsia is a serious condition which causes high blood pressure and puts the mother at risk of further complications. Typically pre-eclampsia develops during the second half of your pregnancy, however it can develop at any point.

Other symptoms include severe headaches, vomiting or swelling to your hands, feet or face.

Signs of pre-eclampsia can be spotted by midwives by simply monitoring blood pressure. Occasionally medical professionals do not properly monitor or diagnose pre-eclampsia which can result in complications during labour for both mother and baby.

Neonatal Death

The loss of a baby is unimaginable for any parent. If the loss of your baby is the result of failings by medical staff during labour then it can make dealing with your loss even harder.  

We know you and your family will have questions and you will be reeling from the pain. You will not know what to do next or who to speak to.

We have the experience to support you and will work tirelessly to help you understand what happened and why. We are here to help you get the answers you deserve.

Maternal Death

It is a heartbreaking reality that a small number of mothers die during childbirth. In rare instances, this can be due to negligence of the doctors and nurses who were treating them.

Whether it was something which has not been diagnosed during pregnancy or the mother hasn’t been monitored properly postnatally, if the mother hasn’t been given the proper treatment then it could be a case of clinical negligence. 

No win no fee personal injury solicitors

It is important for parents to seek specialist legal advice and discuss what steps could be taken and if it is possible to make a claim for compensation. Where injury has been caused by negligent medical treatment, we are here to help. 

Digby Brown has helped many families over the years who look to pursue legal action against the NHS. Our clinical negligence department offers free legal advice and help for parents.

If you would like to talk to someone about your experience, in the first instance complete our Clinical Negligence Enquiry form. Please give as much detail as you can as this will help us fully understand your circumstances and best advise on the next steps to be taken. 

No win, no fee personal injury solicitors

The expression “No win, no fee” is often used in personal injury cases.  It is used as a way of funding a compensation claim where the accident victim does not have the means to pay for the costs involved as the case progresses. 

A number of solicitors are prepared to handle personal injury cases on a “No Win – No Fee” basis but very few are able to offer their clients complete protection if the case is unsuccessful. 

In that event, the client could end up being liable for many thousands of pounds in legal expenses or the case won't be fully investigated and therefore likely to under-settle.

Compensate 'no win, no fee' funding

Digby Brown has its own funding company, Compensate, which provides the funding to allow the case to be fully investigated, employ the best experts surrounding the circumstances of the accident and/or injuries sustained and where and if necessary go to court.

If for whatever reason the case is unsuccessful, Compensate pays all your legal expenses and those of your opponent – you pay nothing

On average our clients receive over 3 times the pre-litigation offer

Because of Compensate funding Digby Brown's success rate is extremely high and on average our clients receive three times the pre-litigation offer.

In the event the case is successful, a small percentage of your damages will be deducted with VAT to pay for this service. The percentage which Compensate will charge depends on the degree of risk involved. We believe that this is the fairest method of giving clients access to justice whilst ensuring their cases are fully investigated, prepared and funded.

Don’t take our word for it, just read many of the court decisions and case studies on our website.

Beware of compensation offers which may be too good

We know you will have seen many adverts offering 100% compensation or telling you that you will not lose any of your compensation, however we believe there are a number of problems with companies that do this.

  • How do they make their money if they don’t charge you anything?
  • If they aren’t taking any money from you, the client, what incentive do they have to ensure you receive the right level of compensation, appropriate to the injuries you have sustained?
  • Fully preparing a case, finding out exactly what happened and what the consequences of your injuries may mean in the long term, is expensive, how do they do this properly?
  • If they aren’t fully preparing these cases will they just accept the first offer they are given on your behalf by the Insurance company?
  • It makes simple business sense, the less work they do the higher their profit margin is - they simply have no incentive to work harder on your behalf.
  • These adverts in the main are from English firms on national television which operates in a different way and therefore wouldn’t apply to a Scottish person.

We know from the many client cases we mandate from other firms of solicitors (in the main at the request of the client who is extremely unsatisfied with the service received for the other firm) that many shortcuts are taken in preparation and that the first offer received is being recommended for acceptance, regardless of the value. 

Getting something for nothing is usually the first sign of poor service.

Correct level of compensation with Digby Brown

Our experience and statistics show time and time again we will achieve the correct level of compensation which will be substantially more than the insurer is initially prepared to offer.

Even after we have deducted our percentage as a success fee you will gain considerably more than you would have achieved using a 100% compensation model.

Contact Digby Brown's personal injury solicitors

We have offices across Scotland in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Inverness, Aberdeen and Ayr.

For further information about no win, no fee, or anything else, call us on 0333 200 5925 or fill in our enquiry form below and someone will get back in touch with you.

Why Digby Brown

Our specialist clinical negligence solicitors have extensive experience of dealing with birth injuries.

Headed by Ruth Kelliher, our team boasts a wealth of knowledge and experience. Accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist clinical negligence lawyer, Ruth is also recognised as a specialist in her field by Chambers & Partners.

Digby Brown are members of Action Against Medical Action (AvMA) and the majority of the team are accredited clinical negligence specialists with the Law Society of Scotland.

Navigating birth injuries can be challenging. The team is here to help support you and your family during this difficult time. Contact us to receive the guidance you need. 

What are the main causes?

Clinical negligence and poor medical care can lead to birth injuries to both mother and baby.

Potential clinical errors are:
●    Administering wrong medication
●    Inadequate care during labour and delivery
●    Failure to diagnose and treat infections
●    Not detecting certain medical conditions before, during or after pregnancy

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