If you believe mistakes were made during your pregnancy or childbirth, it’s understandable to be feeling distressed, confused or seeking answers – particularly if these incidents could have been avoided.
You may have questions about the quality of care you received or whether more could have been done.
It’s important to know that if you or your child suffered harm due to substandard care during your maternity period, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.
At NHS Negligence Claims, our team helps clients and their families across England and Wales secure the compensation they deserve – providing clear, compassionate advice to help them explore their options with confidence.
What is a maternity negligence claim?
A maternity negligence claim arises where substandard medical care during pregnancy, labour or shortly after birth has caused avoidable harm to a mother or her baby.
Healthcare professionals have a duty to provide safe, appropriate medical support at every stage of maternity treatment – and when that standard is not met, the consequences can be life changing for both parent and child.
We understand how painful this can be.
Obtaining financial compensation from a clinical negligence claim can help to meet an injured person’s needs for the rest of their life and to access the support you and your family may need to move forward. It can also be a means of recognising what went wrong and securing answers.
What types of maternity negligence claims can be made?
Maternity care covers a wide range of medical decisions and actions. Negligence can occur at any point during your pregnancy – including during antenatal care, labour/delivery or postnatal care.
Examples of maternity negligence that may be grounds for a claim include:
- Failure to monitor the baby’s wellbeing during labour
- Delays in performing a necessary caesarean section
- Mismanagement of complications (e.g. pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes)
- Incorrect use of delivery instruments (such as forceps or ventouse)
- Failure to diagnose or treat infections
- Inadequate care following birth, leading to avoidable injury
Every situation is unique – which is why our experts will carefully review your individual circumstances and help you understand whether the care you received fell below an acceptable standard.
Avoidable complications arose during the birth of my baby – can I make a claim?
It’s an unfortunate reality that many births involve unexpected complications and not all outcomes are due to negligence.
However, if mistakes were made or warning signs were missed – and this led to harm that could have been avoided – you may have grounds to bring a claim.
To bring a successful claim, your solicitor must be able to prove that:
- There was a breach of duty of care (e.g. a GP or hospital failed to act when they should have); and,
- That breach caused harm — to yourself and/or your newborn child
If you are unsure of where you currently stand, you don’t have to navigate the next steps alone.
Our specialists offer a sensitive, no-obligation discussion to help you explore what happened. We’ll listen to your experience, review the available evidence and provide honest, straightforward advice about your options.
We offer no win, no fee representation.
Take the first step today – we’re here for you. Call Us Today On: 0333 305 1013
Frequently Asked Medical Negligence Questions
You are entitled to a medical negligence claim if you received substandard care from a medical professional or healthcare provider - and that care directly caused you harm or made your condition worse.
Common examples of negligence that result in a successful claim include misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, surgical mistakes or failure to obtain informed consent.
For your claim to succeed, our solicitors need to prove that the care fell below an acceptable standard and resulted in injury or loss to you.
A free initial consultation with our experts can help determine whether your case meets these criteria.
Compensation varies depending on the severity of your injury, how it affects your daily life and any financial losses that have happened as a result.
While no two cases are the same, our friendly and supportive team will work to ensure you receive the maximum amount you’re legally entitled to, backed up by expert medical and financial assessments.
We handled medical negligence claims on a No Win, No Fee basis, meaning you pay nothing upfront and there’s no cost to you if your case is unsuccessful as long as you have complied with the terms of the CFA and the ATE insurance.
If your claim succeeds, no more than 25% will be deducted from your damages to cover your legal costs so you will keep at least 75% of the damages. Don’t worry, we’ll always explain all potential costs clearly before you proceed, so there’ll never be any surprises later on.