Maternity negligence can turn the miracle of childbirth into a nightmare. If you or your baby suffered a preventable birth injury during labour or delivery, you are not alone. High pressure on NHS maternity services often leads to errors that result in devastating, life-long injuries. We specialise in helping families quickly check their eligibility to make a claim in order to secure the birth injury compensation they need to protect their future.

What Is Maternity and Birth Injury Negligence?

Maternity negligence occurs when a healthcare professional (midwife, doctor, consultant, or other staff) fails to provide a reasonable standard of care to a mother or baby before, during, or shortly after birth, leading to injury, illness, or harm. A birth injury claim seeks compensation for these avoidable injuries caused by this breach of duty of care.

Types of Compensation You Can Recover in a Birth Injury Claim

Compensation for a successful maternity negligence claim is designed to provide for the child and family’s needs over a lifetime. You may be entitled to recover both general damages and special damages.

General Damages:

• Pain and suffering of the mother or child
• Loss of amenity (reduced quality of life or physical function)
• Psychological trauma and emotional distress for the entire family

Special Damages:

• Cost of ongoing care, assistance, and specialist nursing care
• Loss of future earnings (if the child’s injury impacts their earning capacity)
• Adapted housing and vehicle costs (e.g., stairlifts, accessible bathrooms)
• Specialist equipment and mobility aids (e.g., wheelchairs, communication devices)
• Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy costs
• Private medical treatment and future corrective surgery
• Therapy and counselling for parents and siblings
• Travel expenses to and from medical and therapy appointments
• Other out of pocket expenses related to the injury

These damages ensure that your child receives the highest quality of care and support for their drastically changed lifestyle due to the delivery negligence.

Unsure if you can make a Birth Injury or Maternity Negligence claim? You can now find out in minutes

If you or your child has been affected by poor maternity care or a delivery error, FreeClaimCheck.co.uk — an AI-powered website that connects to specialist medical negligence solicitors and independent medical experts who specialise in maternity and birth cases – can help you check your eligibility to make a birth injury claim in just minutes, any time of day or night. It is free to check a claim and there is no obligation for you to proceed.

→ Check Your Claim In Minutes >

Common Types of Birth Injury and Maternity Negligence Claims

Negligence during the birthing process can lead to many different types of harm for both the mother and baby. Here are the most common scenarios that lead to birth injury compensation claims:

Injuries to the Baby:

• Cerebral Palsy (CP) Claims: Caused by lack of oxygen (Hypoxia) to the baby’s brain during labour or immediately after birth.

• Erb’s Palsy/Brachial Plexus Injury: Nerve damage to the shoulder/arm, often caused by excessive force or incorrect technique during a difficult delivery (e.g., shoulder dystocia).

• Brain Damage: Including Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE), often due to a failure to monitor or act on fetal distress.

• Neonatal Sepsis/Infections: Failure to diagnose and treat serious infections in a newborn promptly, which can lead to life-threatening conditions like meningitis.

• Neonatal Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar): Failure to properly monitor and treat a newborn’s blood sugar (especially if the mother had gestational diabetes), leading to potential brain damage.

• Fractures or Broken Bones: Including skull fractures, collarbone (clavicle) fractures, or limb fractures caused by excessive force or poor use of instruments during delivery.

Negligence Related to Stillbirth and Fetal Death:

• Stillbirth Claims: Occurs when negligence in monitoring or timely intervention leads to the baby’s death before or during birth (intrapartum stillbirth). This is a complex claim often linked to missed fetal distress or delays in C-section.

• Neonatal Death: Claims for a baby’s death shortly after birth due to an injury or condition that should have been prevented or treated (e.g., failure to resuscitate, untreated infection).

• Inadequate Antenatal Monitoring: Failure to conduct regular checks on the baby’s development and movement, missing signs that could indicate distress or placental failure

Negligence During Labour & Delivery:

• Delayed Delivery/Failure to Perform C-Section: Late intervention when the baby is in distress, leading to injury.

• Mismanagement of Fetal Distress: Failure to recognise or act upon abnormal heart rate monitoring (CTG) results.

• Poor Use of Instruments: Improper use of forceps or ventouse (vacuum), causing injury to the baby’s head or nerves.

Injuries to the Mother:

• Third or Fourth-Degree Tears: Failure to recognise or properly repair severe perineal tears, leading to long-term bowel/bladder problems.

• Missed Pre-eclampsia or Eclampsia: Failure to diagnose and treat high blood pressure during pregnancy or labour, endangering both mother and baby.

• Ruptured Uterus: Failure to monitor a previous C-section scar or administer labour-inducing drugs correctly.

• Haemorrhage (Excessive Bleeding): Failure to manage or treat post-partum bleeding promptly and effectively.

• Complications from Episiotomy: Incorrect or unnecessary cutting (episiotomy) or poor stitching afterwards, leading to long-term pain and scarring.

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Psychological injury to the mother resulting from a traumatic birth experience caused by negligence or feeling ignored/disbelieved by staff (especially reported by ethnic minority mothers).

Antenatal Negligence (During Pregnancy):

• Mismanagement of Gestational Diabetes (GDM): Failure to properly manage GDM once diagnosed, which can lead to the baby becoming too large (macrosomia), increasing the risk of shoulder dystocia and severe tearing during delivery.

• Missed Diagnosis of Congenital Defects: Failure to spot issues during scans, leading to lack of preparation or the family being denied the choice to terminate the pregnancy (Wrongful Birth Claim).

• Mismanagement of Maternal Conditions: Including gestational diabetes or infections like Group B Strep (GBS).

• Failure to Monitor Growth: Not spotting that a baby is growing too large or too small (Intrauterine Growth Restriction), leading to poor birth planning.

• Failure to Screen High-Risk Mothers: Failure to offer or properly interpret screening for conditions like gestational diabetes in mothers with known risk factors, particularly those of Black, African-Caribbean, South Asian, or Middle Eastern origin, who are statistically at higher risk. Note: Studies show babies born to Black mothers are significantly more likely to die in neonatal care, and lack of timely screening or listening to patient concerns is a major factor in subsequent negligence claims.

Don’t Delay—Check Your Eligibility for Birth Injury Compensation Today

It’s vital to seek legal advice or check your claim at the earliest point so you don’t miss out. This is because a claim must be officially filed (issued) within the time limit, not just checked.

If you or your child have suffered due to maternity negligence, you may be entitled to significant compensation—and FreeClaimCheck.co.uk can help you check your claim in minutes at anytime, day or night.

→ Check Your Claim In Minutes >

Unsure if you can make a no win no fee birth injury claim?

If so, watch the 60-second video below to learn more about starting the process of checking your birth injury claim. Even though there is no obligation to make a claim, the video explains the essential No Win No Fee model in case you do decide to pursue a maternity negligence claim with a no win no fee birth injury solicitor from our specialist panel.