A birth injury is when damage or an injury is caused to the child before, during or soon after birth.

You can make a birth injury claim if there is a failure to diagnose serious conditions that could harm an unborn child, such as preeclampsia or maternal or gestational diabetes.

You can also make a birth injury claim if poor care from medical staff causes your baby to suffer injury either during childbirth or within eight weeks of the date of the birth.

You can also make a childbirth negligence claim for birth injuries to the mother of the child.

You can make a claim for many types of birth injury, including:

• Cerebral palsy
• Erb's palsy
• Brain injury
• Broken bones
• Lack of oxygen

No matter what the injury is, if medical staff such as doctors and midwives fail to provide an adequate level of care, you may be entitled to childbirth negligence compensation.

Yes, you can fund your claim through a conditional fee agreement, also known as a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement.

The amount of damages you may receive from a birth injury compensation claim depends on your individual case. Generally, the more severe the injury and the impact on your family, the higher the amount of compensation you may receive. Our birth injury lawyers will assess your case and provide an expected settlement figure as soon as possible.

Rest assured that our lawyers will make sure your compensation will cover the costs of any rehabilitation, treatment and home adaptations you may need to help your child live with their injury. As part of your claim, we’ll put you in touch with support groups and charities who can offer their services to support you during your child’s recovery.

A birth injury claim can be made on behalf of a child any time before their 18th birthday. Once they turn 18, they have three years to make their own birth injury claim, but the limit may not apply if they do not have the mental capacity to bring a claim themselves.

If you wish to make a birth compensation claim for a child who has passed away as a result of a birth injury, you have three years from the date of the death to make a claim.

For a birth injury caused to the mother, you usually have three years to claim following the injury. This is the case with most medical negligence claims.

Our lawyers understand the devastating impact a birth injury can have on the child, parent and the whole family. It can be a difficult and challenging time to care for the child and to process the injury. That’s why our lawyers do all that they can to help ease the emotional and financial strain that comes with a birth injury, so that the parents can focus on the care of their baby.

Thompsons also has a Legal Aid franchise for babies who suffer a brain injury within 8 weeks of birth, and all the specialist solicitors carrying out this type of work are members of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel.

Almost uniquely amongst law firms, we only ever act for injured people, never those who harmed them or their insurers. We are committed to getting the maximum compensation for parents and children who have suffered a birth injury as a result of a medical error.

If you’d like to begin a birth injury claim, get in touch on 0800 0 224 224 or fill in our online claim form to begin the process. Our birth injury lawyers will offer free, no-obligation legal advice on making a claim.