Stillbirth Medical Negligence Cases and Expertise

Stillbirth Medical Negligence Cases & Expertise

When it comes to Stillbirth Medical Negligence Cases, you’re looking at one of the most difficult situations imaginable.

Suffering a stillbirth is a tragedy, but knowing it was avoidable makes it even more heart breaking for bereaved parents and families. Sands, the UK’s stillbirth and neonatal death charity, reports that in 2014 in the UK one baby in 219 was stillborn. In effect, they died sometime between the 24th week of pregnancy until labour.

Every year in the UK, over 3,500 mothers return home from the hospital without their much longed-for baby. Truly, some of these stillbirth cases are sadly unavoidable no matter how excellent the medical care woman receives. But others are unfortunately a result of negligence during pregnancy or labour. Stillbirth claims can be a way of helping the family at a heart breaking time.

Talk to The Medical Negligence Experts if you have experienced the pain of stillbirth which you believe was caused by medical negligence. Claiming compensation for your stillborn baby will not bring your child back. But it can help give you closure, ensuring you don’t suffer financially as well as emotionally from your loss.

We are happy to offer you a free, no-obligation confidential conversation with one of our experts. Whether you have suffered negligent care through and NHS or private hospital, The Medical Negligence Experts can help.

What is Stillbirth Medical Negligence Cases?

While the failure of any pregnancy is heart breaking, stillbirth is the term for babies beyond the 24-week point of gestation. This date is when it is reasonable to assume they have a good chance of survival if they were born (albeit with neonatal intervention). A pregnancy that does not reach 24 weeks is called a miscarriage.

While some reasons for stillbirth are a mystery, some known causes include:

Placental abruption

The placenta detaches from the wall of the uterus and preventing the baby from getting the necessary nutrients and oxygen they need to survive. It can also cause significant blood loss and threaten the life of the mother.

Symptoms of placental abruption include abdominal pain and tenderness, possibly some vaginal bleeding, and an abnormal foetal heart rate. With accurate monitoring and swift intervention, it may be possible to save the lives of both the mother and child.

High blood pressure

Women should have their blood pressure checked regularly during their pregnancy to ensure it is not too high or too low. Both can be dangerous for both the mother and baby, with excessively high blood pressure (hypertension) being one of the known factors in some stillbirths.

Lack of oxygen

Babies rely on the placenta and umbilical cord for their oxygen. In addition to placental abruption, smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking some drugs can limit the amount a baby receives in utero. It is possible for stillbirths to result from a lack of oxygen in the womb or during traumatic labour.

Stillborn clinical negligence occurs when medical professionals fail in providing an acceptable standard of care for their patients. Examples of stillbirth negligence include:

• Inadequate antenatal monitoring of a baby’s development through regular appointments;
• Failure to refer a mother for appropriate assessment if she is at a higher risk due to conditions like diabetes, obesity, or high blood pressure;
• Failure to identify and treat maternal infection, and;
• Misinterpretation of test or scan results.

One BBC report reveals the risk of stillbirth inherent with caesarean sections.

Women who have C-sections are 14% more likely to have a stillbirth in future than those giving birth naturally, say researchers. 

Stillbirth Claims vs. Raising a Complaint

Raising a compensation claim is not the same as raising a complaint. Both have different objectives and outcomes. Moreover, raising a complaint will trigger a formal investigation to determine the cause of stillbirth. This includes whether this was due to negligent care.

The NHS trust or private hospital responsible should take adequate steps to ensure it doesn’t arise again. So it is whether that means altering processes, improving staff training, or another course of action.

A compensation claim can only be made when negligence is the cause, or a factor, of a stillbirth. A successful compensation claim won’t necessarily result in the discipline of a medical professional.

Nor will it force any changes made to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future. Compensation is a payment made in recognition of the pain and suffering you have suffered as the result of negligence. It is an acknowledgement of guilt but not an apology.

It is possible to raise both a complaint and an application for payment of damages. Indeed, the investigation and findings provide the necessary evidence to prove liability in the compensation claim. Contact us today to find out more about how The Medical Negligence Experts can help.

Birth Injury Compensation Claims

Indeed, we work with an array of law firms that offer experience in successfully obtaining compensation for stillbirth medical negligence cases. The law firms that have partnered with The Medical Negligence Experts can also prepare and submit claims for other types of birth injury negligence. These include cerebral palsy, Cauda Equina, wrongful birth, failed terminations, midwife negligence, contraception failure, and miscarriage negligence.

The amount of compensation you receive will depend on various factors, too. These include the proportion your negligent care contributes to your stillbirth. Estimating compensation for a stillbirth is particularly challenging: there is a strong element of psychological damage in some instances. Under UK law, a person can not have a financial interest in the life of someone else.

A parent can be compensated for the pain of their bereavement. Moreover, a mother can get damages for physical trauma, but not for the actual loss of her child.

How can we help?

We appreciate that after the death of a child your emotions will be elevated. You may be feeling extreme anger and sadness, and may also be physically recovering from your ordeal. Deciding to claim compensation may be the furthest thing from your mind. But seeking legal advice as early as possible will help you obtain the most positive outcome.

We offer a free, confidential conversation with an expert who can answer any questions you have. The Medical Negligence Experts offer a free claim assessment to see if we can connect you to one of our partnered law firms.

There is a statutory limit of three years to start a compensation claim for stillbirth negligence*. This time starts from the date your injury happened, and there can be months of investigations before an application is ready to submit. UK law states the claimant must prove negligence caused their injury or stillbirth, rather than the care providers having to prove it did not.

*Usually, you have three years to make a claim i.e., 3 years from the date of the injury or when you (the claimant) first became aware of the injury, whichever is later. There are some circumstances where the ‘limitation period’ differs. If a claimant lacks the mental capacity to make a claim, the time period doesn’t begin until capacity is regained. In other exceptional cases, the court can extend the limitation period. This is non-exhaustive.

Contact The Medical Negligence Team today. We can help determine if you could make a claim and, if so, what to do next.