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Navigating pregnancy and childbirth can be a challenging time for mothers. If you’ve suffered at the hands of a healthcare professional during this period, it can add unwarranted distress to your life. If you’ve experienced harm as a result, please read our useful pregnancy negligence claims guide to find out if you could be entitled to compensation.
What You Need To Know
- You could claim against the NHS or a private hospital depending on where you received the negligent care
- You could claim for financial losses you suffered as a result of the harm you experienced
- You will need to provide evidence of the negligence you experienced, such as medical records and witness statements
- You will typically have up to 3 years to start your claim
- You could receive regular case updates and help with legal documents if you’re connected with one of our solicitors
At Advice, our advisors work around the clock to answer any questions you may have about making a claim. Moreover, you could receive a free eligibility assessment to look at the strength of your claim. If you have a strong claim, you could be connected with one of our expert No Win No Fee solicitors to help you. To get in touch:
- Call us on 0161 509 2856
- Contact us by filling out our online form
- Use our free live chat feature
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I Make A Maternity And Pregnancy Negligence Claim?
- How Much Compensation Could I Get For Pregnancy Or Maternity Negligence?
- The Ways In Which Pregnancy Negligence Claims Can Help Me
- What Are Some Examples Of Negligence During Pregnancy?
- What Will I Need To Make A Pregnancy Or Maternity Negligence Claim?
- How Advice’s Team Can Help You Claim Pregnancy Negligence Compensation
- Can I Make A No Win No Fee Pregnancy Or Maternity Claim?
- Learn More
Can I Make A Maternity And Pregnancy Negligence Claim?
Yes, you could make a maternity and pregnancy negligence claim provided that you meet the eligibility criteria. In essence, you will need to meet the following requirements:
- You were owed a duty of care
- This duty of care was breached by a healthcare professional
- You suffered avoidable harm as a result of the breach
All healthcare professionals have a duty of care to provide the minimum expected standard of treatment to patients. To illustrate, healthcare professionals should take patients seriously and assess allergies when prescribing medications as part of their duty.
Therefore, if you’ve suffered unnecessarily, mentally or physically, because of substandard maternity care, you could be eligible to claim. For instance, your midwife could misinterpret test results indicating that you have gestational diabetes, leading to future complications. As a result, you might be eligible to claim medical negligence compensation.
To learn about more about eligibility and pregnancy negligence claims, contact one of our friendly advisors today.
Can I Claim Against The NHS?
Yes, you could claim against the NHS if you received negligent treatment in one of their institutions. When a claim is made, it will ultimately be made against the relevant trust or group that was responsible for providing your care.
Moreover, compensation is typically paid out by the NHS Resolution, who ultimately act as insurers for the NHS. As such, this scheme works to investigate claims made against the NHS and provides funds for pay-outs.
Please note that compensation pay-outs will never be taken directly from an institution, and making a claim will not negatively affect their finances or the treatment given to yourself or other patients.
How Can I Claim Against A Private Clinic?
A claim against a private clinic is similar to claiming against the NHS from your end if you are working with a solicitor. However, your claim would be made against the private clinic directly; they will usually have their own insurers responsible for compensation payouts.
Ultimately, all medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care, regardless of whether they are working for the NHS or in the private sector.
To learn how you could claim against a private clinic, please contact a member of our advisory team today.
How Much Compensation Could I Get For Pregnancy Or Maternity Negligence?
How much compensation awarded for pregnancy negligence claims will vary between successful claimants. This is because of the various factors that comprise a settlement, which we will examine now.
In successful pregnancy negligence claims, you could be entitled to general damages as part of your compensation payout. As such, general damages aim to compensate you for any pain and suffering you experienced due to the incident.
When valuing this part of a maternity negligence claim, those responsible for doing so, such as a solicitor, may refer to the compensation guidelines published by the Judicial College, sometimes called the ‘JCG’. This document looks at different types of harm and provides guideline values for each.
All figures below, aside from the first entry, have been taken from the JCG for common types of harm associated with pregnancy or maternity negligence. Please be advised that they are merely guidelines and do not provide a guarantee for how much you will receive.
- Multiple severe injuries with financial losses – such as loss of earnings – up to £500,000 or more
- Female Reproductive Injuries (a) – Infertility with sexual dysfunction, depression and scar tissue – £140,210 to £207,260
- Female Reproductive Injuries (b) – Permanent sexual dysfunction in the case of a person with children or who would not have had children in any event – £52,490 to £124,620
- Female Reproductive Injuries (c) – Infertility with no aggravating features and no sexual dysfunction in a young person without children – £68,440 to £87,070
- Female Reproductive Injuries (d) – Infertility with no medical complications where the injured party already has kids – £21,920 to £44,840
- Female Reproductive Injuries (e) – Infertility where the injured person would not have had children in any event due to age – £8,060 to £22,800
- Female Reproductive Injuries (f) – The award will depend on the extent of pain, suffering, bleeding and whether a blood transfusion is required – £4,140 to £24,930
- Female Reproductive Injuries (g) – A failed sterilisation leading to an unwanted pregnancy where there is no serious psychological impact – In the region of £12,450
To find out how much you could receive for your unique situation, please contact one of our friendly advisors today.
The Ways In Which Pregnancy Negligence Claims Can Help Me
Following successful pregnancy negligence claims, claimants could also be entitled to receive special damages as part of their settlement. Special damages essentially aim to compensate you for any financial losses you suffered as a result of the harm you experienced. For instance, you may have paid out-of-pocket expenses for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and resulting travel expenses.
Please see the following examples of special damages you could include in your claim:
- Loss of earnings
- Medical expenses
- Physiotherapy costs
- Childcare costs
- Home modification costs
- Travel costs
It’s also essential that you provide evidence of any special damages, such as via:
- Receipts
- Invoices
- Bank statements
- Payslips
Whilst the award of compensation cannot undo any negligence that has occurred, it could provide you with a sense of justice. To find out how you could claim for special damages, please contact an advisor today.
What Are Some Examples Of Negligence During Pregnancy?
There are many scenarios where pregnancy negligence may occur. Please see the following examples and how pregnancy negligence claims could arise as a result:
- An obstetrician could fail to diagnose a severe kidney infection you’re suffering with despite you presenting symptoms. Instead, they could misdiagnose you with back pain, causing further pain and suffering for you and your baby. You could then make a delayed diagnosis claim for the harm you suffered.
- A doctor could fail to respond to emergencies, resulting in a miscarriage. For instance, you may have suffered an early obstructed labour that required immediate medical attention. As a result, a doctor may fail to acknowledge your symptoms and you may suffer with severe PTSD as a result.
- An ultrasound technician or doctor could miss abnormalities with your baby during a scan. For example, your baby may have displayed signs of severe disabilities that you were not made aware of. As such, you could suffer with psychological injuries if your baby suffered with cerebral palsy.
- A midwife could provide poor postnatal care by failing to monitor you after childbirth. As a result, you could suffer severe pain from a lack of pain medications and infections from wounds. Consequently, you could claim for poor care in a hospital.
To learn more about how you could receive compensation for pregnancy negligence claims, please contact one of our friendly advisors today.
What Will I Need To Make A Pregnancy Or Maternity Negligence Claim?
It’s essential that evidence is provided to support the harm suffered when making pregnancy negligence claims. For example, you could provide evidence in the following forms:
- Medical records detailing the level of harm you experienced
- Contact details of potential witnesses who could support your version of events at a later date
- Photographs or videos of the harm you suffered
- X-rays, scans or test results
- Correspondence between yourself and the medical institution where you received your treatment
- A copy of your hand-held notes (also called maternity notes)
- Details of your antenatal appointments or any pregnancy or parenting-related courses you attended
Moreover, you will have up to 3 years to make your claim. As per the Limitation Act 1980, the medical negligence time limit runs from:
- The date that the medical negligence happened
- The date of knowledge. This ultimately means the date you realised that the harm you suffered was due to a negligent healthcare professional
There are two exceptions to this time limit, such as:
- If the claimant is a child, they cannot claim independently. Instead, they will need to wait until their 18th birthday; from this date they will have 3 years to bring their claim.
- If the claimant is lacking in mental capacity, the time limit will be paused. If the claimant regains mental capacity, they will have 3 years to claim from that date.
To learn how you could act as a litigation friend in the above scenarios to manage a claim for the harmed party, please contact our helpful team today.
How Advice’s Team Can Help You Claim Pregnancy Negligence Compensation
At Advice, our advisors work meticulously to answer any questions you may have about pregnancy negligence claims. Moreover, if you’re connected with one of our solicitors, they could help with the following:
- Regular case updates
- Arrangements of physiotherapy
- Help with signing legal documents
- Explanations of legal terminologies
- Help with arranging independent medical appointments
- Being the point of contact with the defendant
To find out more benefits of making a claim with Advice, please contact our helpful advisors today.
Can I Make A No Win No Fee Pregnancy Or Maternity Claim?
Through our free case check, you could also be connected with one of our specialist No Win No Fee solicitors. By using a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), you could enjoy:
- No requirements to pay solicitor service fees at the start of your claim or as it progresses
- You won’t have to pay for any solicitor fees if your claim is unsuccessful
- If your claim is successful, you’ll only be required to pay a small success fee. The success fee percentage is capped by law and will be deducted from your compensation. Therefore, you’ll always receive the bulk of your settlement.
To learn more about CFAs, please contact one of our friendly advisors today.
Contact Our Advisors To Begin Your Claim
To learn more about pregnancy negligence claims, please contact our experienced advisors today. Get in touch by:
- Calling us on 0161 509 2856
- Contact us by filling out our online form
- Using our free live chat feature
Learn More
To learn more about medical negligence claims, please see some of our other guides:
- Get help with missed fracture compensation claims
- See the following advice about eye surgery claims
- Learn about cosmetic surgery claims
- Read about Ectopic pregnancy negligence
Additional external resources:
- Learn about keeping well in pregnancy from the NHS
- See the following advice about managing sick leave and return to work from HSE
- Get help with statutory sick pay from Gov.Uk
Thank you for reading our helpful guide about pregnancy negligence claims.
