What are Birth Injuries?
During birth, medical practitioners need to ensure that both the baby and mother are adequately cared for and receive proper medical attention. Medical practitioners need to respond appropriately to both patients’ needs. Unfortunately, accidents can arise causing injuries to either the baby or the mother.
Childbirth medical negligence injuries to the baby can include brain damage, cerebral or erb’s palsy, forceps injuries, vacuum extractor injuries, fractures, injuries caused by insufficient oxygen and so on.
What is a Childbirth Medical Negligence Claim for Birth Injuries to the Baby?
A medical negligence claim for birth injuries to the baby is a claim seeking compensation for the baby’s injuries where there was a breach of duty in their medical care. Such claims may be brought on behalf of the child, or alternatively, by the child themselves upon reaching majority.
What is the Process Involved in Making a Childbirth Medical Negligence Claim for Birth Injuries to the Baby?
The first step is to speak to a medical negligence Solicitor who has expertise in dealing with these types of claims and will be able to provide legal advice backed by experience. Your Solicitor will take detailed instructions from you regarding how the birth progressed and what occurred to cause the baby’s injuries.
They will need to request copies of your and your baby’s medical records from all practitioners who have provided treatment relevant to the baby’s injuries, including from the maternity hospital, your General Practitioner and your baby’s General Practitioner.
Once the records are received, your Solicitor will carefully review them and will discuss them with you.
They will then decide what expert reports are required in your circumstances and will brief the relevant independent expert(s) with your instructions and copies of the medical records. The expert(s) will be asked to provide reports dealing with liability and causation.
Once a liability report is to hand and the expert is able to identify a breach of duty in the care provided to you or your baby during birth, legal proceedings can be issued. Your Solicitor will then brief a barrister and ask them to draft proceedings.
The draft proceedings will be reviewed with you before being issued in court and served on the Defendant(s).
What Do I Need to Prove in a Medical Negligence Claim?
You will need to prove two things:
- Liability – that there was a breach of duty in the medical care provided to you or your baby. You must be able to show that no reasonably competent doctor with the same qualifications, skills and expertise, faced with the same set of circumstances, at the same time would have acted in the same way.
- Causation – that your baby sustained injuries or suffered an adverse outcome, and that this was caused by the said breach of duty.
Independent experts will be briefed to review the relevant medical records and provide reports on liability and causation. The liability report will usually be provided by an expert with the same speciality and qualifications as the medical practitioner who provided the medical treatment complained of. You may need multiple causation reports, depending on your baby’s circumstances and your Solicitor will advise you on what is required.
Where a baby is injured during birth, the extent of their injuries or the effects of these injuries on their future may not be fully apparent until later in the baby’s life. Causation reports may need to be updated to deal with any such developments as the extent of the consequences become known.
What Can I Claim Compensation For?
In medical negligence claims, compensation may be sought for pain and suffering caused by the injuries (general damages), as well as for expenses arising out of the injuries, both present and future (special damages). These expenses may include to medical treatment for the injuries sustained, medication expenses, specialist care and specialist equipment which may be required throughout the baby’s life.
What are the Time Limits for Making a Medical Negligence Claim?
Where a baby is injured at birth, the time limit for medical negligence claims is two years minus one day from the date of the baby’s 18th birthday, or two years from the date of the requisite knowledge, as under Section 2 of the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991. Every case is different, and you Solicitor will advise you on what the time limits are for you, depending on your particular circumstances.
In some cases where there is a delay in bringing proceedings, the courts may take the view that a case should not proceed if the said delay has prejudiced the Defendant(s). It is, therefore, very important that you consult with a medical negligence solicitor as early as possible if you intend to make a claim.
Fachtna O’Driscoll – Medical Negligence Solicitors Cork
Fachtna O’Driscoll Solicitors are experts in medical negligence and birth injuries claims and can provide guidance with efficiency and clear, comprehensive advice.
You can contact our Medical Negligence Solicitors Cork team by calling 021 427 8131 or by emailing info@fodlaw.ie.
