A baby birth injury is a type of injury that occurs during labour, delivery or immediately after birth. This type of injury can occur in both the mother and the baby and can range from minor to severe. Common birth injuries can include physical trauma, oxygen deprivation, and infections.

If a baby sustains a significant injury whilst being delivered, this can have a huge impact on the whole family, both at the time and also in the future, if the injury has long-term consequences. Not every injury to a baby during their delivery will be due to mistakes or the poor quality of care given by medical professionals, but if the injury was the result of negligence, you might be able to claim compensation for what has happened.

If your claim is successful, you will be awarded a sum of compensation which takes into account the future needs of your child. This could include money to pay for the care they need into the future as well as for things like adaptations that need to be made to your home to help meet the needs of your child because of what happened to them.

There are lots of different types of baby birth injuries that can be sustained. Most of these injuries to babies during birth will be minor and should not have a long-term impact on the baby. However, sometimes these injuries can be more serious and can have lasting or even permanent health consequences. Some of the most common baby birth injuries include:

Cerebral Palsy Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects the brain and can develop during delivery or shortly after birth, although isn't usually diagnosed until symptoms become more obvious as the child reaches 2-3 years. Causes can include the brain temporarily not getting enough oxygen during birth, which can sometimes happen as a result of clinical negligence by the medical professionals involved in delivering the baby.

Erb's Palsy Erb's palsy is essentially nerve damage that causes paralysis in the baby's arm. Also known as Erb-duchenne palsy or brachial plexus palsy, this injury is usually sustained during childbirth, when the baby's shoulder becomes stuck. It can sometimes be the result of negligence if the medical staff did not act as they should during the delivery or uses excessive force. Some babies are sadly left with lifelong problems as a result of this injury sustained during birth.

Bone fractures On some occasions, babies may sustain broken or fractured bones during the delivery. Whilst this isn't always as a result of negligence, it can sometimes happen if excessive force is used by the medical professionals involved. While most of these injuries will heal, sometimes the damage might be severe enough to have long-term consequences for the child.

Brain injuries Sadly, sometimes children sustain a baby brain injury at birth that can have long-term or even permanent impact on their health and development. If this injury to baby during birth came as a result of medical negligence, you might be able to claim compensation for what happened, which can make a huge difference going forwards.

While these are not the only types of injuries that babies can sometimes sustain during delivery, they are some of the more common kinds of significant injury that can have a life-changing impact on the whole family. If you believe that your child's birth injury was a result of clinical negligence by the medical professionals that were providing care to your baby at the time, you might be eligible to make a compensation claim.

No amount of compensation can turn back time and prevent the injury from happening, but a successful claim and the money awarded can help you and your family to gain a sense of justice and help support your child in the future particularly when you may not be able to.

As experienced baby birth injury claim solicitors, we're ideally placed to take on your claim and help you to get the compensation you deserve for what happened during your child's delivery. Our clinical negligence team understand that this type of claim can sometimes be difficult to discuss and you might be worried about the process and what you'll need to do as part of your claim. We can help you at every stage of the process, always acting sensitively and with the high level of professionalism you should expect from proven birth injuries to mother negligence solicitors.

If your child sustained a significant birth injury as a result of medical negligence, you can make a compensation claim on their behalf at any point until their 18th birthday. Once they turn 18 years of age, they can choose to bring a claim themselves in the next three years but reach the time limit for a birth injury claim when they turn 21.

If the birth injury means that your child does not have the mental capacity to decide themselves whether to make a claim, the time limit may not apply.

Get in touch with our expert team to find out if you have a claim and to learn more about the process.

Contact us today to speak with our highly experienced solicitors who possess extensive knowledge in providing expert legal services and support for Baby Birth Injury cases to clients nationwide.