Birth is an emotional experience. For most, it is a positive memory of the day they met their new baby.
For others, it can be a frightening experience resulting in trauma to the mother and the newborn baby. We are experienced in birth injury cases and poor obstetric treatment. Unnecessary harm to mother and/or the baby can be grounds for a medical negligence claim.
What is Birth Injury?
During birth there can be injury to either the mother, the baby or both. Some of these birth injuries are unavoidable, but sometimes injuries are caused by medical negligence.
Some of the types of life altering birth injuries which commonly result in medical negligence claims include:
- Cerebral Palsy
- Erb’s Palsy
- Brachial Plexus Injuries
Also, amniocentesis which resulted in the needle entering the fetal brain causing brain damage can lead to legal claims. The misdiagnosis of pre-natal genetic testing has resulted in a successful legal action.
What are Maternal Birth Injuries?
Maternal Birth Injuries are a traumatic event. Physical injuries may include bladder impairment, fecal incontinence, colostomy etc. Such injuries impact every aspect of the new mother’s life.
Even where physical wounds have healed, the psychological impact can reek havoc on the new mother. It can damage the bond with her new baby, the relationship with her partner and even may lead to avoidance of future pregnancies. There is often a dismissive attitude toward mums who suffer traumatic birth such as “sure isn’t the baby fine”. This attitude can worsen the psychological impact on the woman.
There are several types of trauma a mother can suffer during labour, or after labour. These include
- Failure to manage pre-eclampsia or sepsis
- Failure to recognise perineal tear
- Fissures
- Failure to correctly repair episiotomy
- Injuries caused during Caesarean Section
Sometimes, poor standards of care can worsen the trauma. We have experience in acting for women who have been injured in labour and whose injuries have been missed, misdiagnosed or mistreated.
Proving Your Birth Injury Claim
If your labour or after care was badly handled resulting in injury to you or to your baby, you may be able to bring a legal claim for medical negligence. If you have questions in relation to your birthing experience, speak with us in confidence. You will deal with only one female solicitor during your case wherever possible.
Speak with Melanie Power direct on 061-513055 or email our medical negligence solicitors on [email protected].
