Business and Justice

Archive for the ‘Injury Compensation’ Category

Approximately 2,000 babies are born in the UK every day. Some experts estimate that up to 70% will suffer some type of birth injury. This number may seem high but it’s important to note that birth injuries are defined as any type of physical damage experienced by a baby before birth, during labour, during delivery or shortly after birth.

Thankfully, in the majority of cases, these injuries are minor and there no lasting effects or consequences. However, in a small minority of cases, the injury can be more serious and in rare circumstances the most severe injuries can cause permanent damage. Fortunately, the legal system in England and Wales provides for the parents or the child to be compensated when such an injury is caused directly or indirectly through the negligence of medical professionals.

It’s no secret that delivering a child can be very traumatic experiences for a mother and her baby. A wide variety of problems and complications may arise, and birth injuries can result when doctors or nurses act inappropriately or do not react sufficiently when dealing with complications during labour and delivery.

Some of the most severe birth injuries are experienced during induced delivery or surgical delivery instead of through natural, spontaneous delivery. Injuries can be caused when a baby is deprived of oxygen or when trauma is experienced from mechanical movement when a baby is in an unusual birthing position or when the baby is too large for the mother to easily deliver.

Numerous cases of birth injuries are caused by the negligence of doctors and hospitals. Negligence can take the form of excessive force during delivery, failing to perform appropriate medical actions when necessary or failing to anticipate the size of the baby until it is too late.

For parents or children to be eligible for compensation for a negligent birth injury, a legal case must be established. It is usually in the best interests of the parents to hire legal representation experienced in birth injury cases. Before or while establishing the case, an investigation will be conducted to determine if it is likely that acceptable standards of medical care were not met.

According to UK law, parents can file a claim for birth injuries any time before the child’s 18th birthday. After that, the child may file on behalf of himself or herself up until the age of 21. But be warned, because of the complexity of birth injuries and medical negligence law, birth injury claims may take several years before a resolution is reached.