Maternity negligence and birth injuries
When you’re pregnant or giving birth, you put your trust in midwives, doctors and hospital staff to keep you and your baby safe. Most of the time, that trust is well placed. But when mistakes are made, the consequences can be devastating.
Maternity negligence happens when poor care during pregnancy, labour or shortly after birth causes avoidable harm. This might include missed diagnoses, delayed C-sections, poor fetal monitoring, or the misuse of forceps or other delivery tools. These failures can lead to serious injuries such as cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, fractured bones, brain injuries or perineal trauma. In the most tragic cases, maternity negligence can result in stillbirth or neonatal death.
We will guide you through the subject of maternity negligence and what it is, how it happens, and what you can do if you or your baby were harmed. You’ll find expert legal advice, real-life insights, and a clear explanation of your rights. From understanding how compensation works to finding out whether you’re eligible to claim, this page brings together everything you need to feel informed, supported and ready to take the next step.
If you’ve experienced poor maternity care, or if your child was injured at birth, we’re here to help you find answers. We’ll explain your options, talk about how we can help you, and ensure that you get the support that you need.
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Find the information that matters to you
We’ve grouped everything on this page into clear sections to help you find the right support, quickly. Whether you’re trying to understand what went wrong, looking for legal guidance, or want to know more about your rights after a birth injury, you can jump straight to the area that’s most relevant to you.
Get clear, expert guidance on maternity negligence and birth injury claims
When pregnancy or childbirth goes wrong because of substandard medical care, the results can be devastating. Maternity negligence can lead to life-altering injuries, trauma, and heartbreak — affecting not only mothers, but their babies and families too. In many cases, mistakes could have been prevented if maternity staff had acted sooner, monitored more closely, or followed correct procedures.
At Nash & Co Solicitors, we’ve built this dedicated hub to help you understand your rights and take the next step forward with confidence. Whether you're navigating a complex birth injury, a missed diagnosis during pregnancy, or a preventable stillbirth, you’ll find detailed information, helpful legal guidance, and compassionate support section by section.
We know how difficult it can be to revisit these experiences, but you’re absolutely not alone. We’ve helped many families understand what happened, access vital support, and secure compensation that reflects the impact on their lives. So this hub will give you the knowledge, clarity, and information about your next steps, all for you to read at your own pace.
Birth injuries explained
Birth injuries can have a lasting and life-changing impact. For many families, they lead to years of specialist care, therapy, emotional stress, and financial uncertainty. Some birth injuries are unavoidable, but others are the direct result of mistakes or delays in care. When that happens, and the harm could have been prevented, it may be considered medical negligence.
At Nash & Co Solicitors, we support parents who are looking for answers. We understand how distressing and overwhelming this experience can be, especially when you feel something went wrong but no one has explained why. Here, we’ll give you clear, practical guidance on the most common birth injuries linked to poor maternity care.
Each of the articles that follow, focuses on a specific type of injury. You’ll find detailed information about how the injury can happen, when it might have been avoidable, and what options are available if you are considering making a compensation claim. We’ll cover:
Cerebral palsy caused by oxygen deprivation during birth
Erb’s palsy and shoulder injuries linked to difficult deliveries
Fractures and broken bones caused during labour
Brain injuries such as hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE)
Perineal tears and the consequences of poor management
Head trauma linked to forceps or ventouse-assisted births
These are not just medical terms. They represent real families and real experiences, and most of them typically involve a high degree of trauma, stress and worry, along with the need for long term support. Our goal is to help you understand what may have gone wrong, and the options that you are available for you.
Whether you are searching for answers, exploring your legal rights, or simply trying to make sense of what happened, we’ll make sure you have everything you need. If you have any questions about anything that you’re reading, then we’re here to help and provide the answers that you need. You can call us on 01752 827085 or you can email the team at medneg@nash.co.uk
call Call us on 01752 827085 for a chat and to arrange your free consultation
Examples of maternity negligence
Maternity care involves a series of important checks, decisions, and interventions. When those aren’t handled properly, things can go wrong. Some of the most serious cases of maternity negligence happen not because of a single mistake, but because warning signs were missed, treatment was delayed, or a situation was misjudged.
This section looks at common situations where poor maternity care has led to serious harm for mothers or babies. These examples don’t cover everything, but they reflect the kinds of incidents we see most often in maternity negligence claims.
If any of these situations sound familiar, you may want to speak to a solicitor to find out whether you have a case and what support could be available to you.
Understanding Maternity Negligence
Frequently asked questions
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Essentially, we need to prove that any delay or misdiagnosis that has caused you harm, could have been avoided.
If you think this has happened to you, and that a medical professional has failed to fulfil their responsibilities, please get in touch with us now. We can talk to you about how we can start to gather evidence in order to make a claim.
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We can’t stress this enough, it’s important that you seek specialist advice from a solicitor who has a good track record in medical negligence claims, as soon as possible. There are time limits in place in England, Scotland and Wales.
Generally, any medical negligence claim should be made within three years from the date the negligence occurred. Sometimes the date can be later under certain circumstances, so speak with our experts who can arrange a free consultation about your claim.
To read more about the time limits associated with making a claim, please have a read of our medical negligence claims guide.
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Honestly, we understand that it can be difficult to think about making a compensation claim when you've already been through so much. But over the years, we’ve helped so many people claim compensation, and we’ve seen the effect that this has had on their lives. And ultimately, to begin with, it’s just a phone call and an informal chat. There’s no obligation or commitment there at this stage to make a claim.
Our cancer misdiagnosis lawyers in Plymouth will do all they can to understand the impact that the delay or misdiagnosis has had on your cancer's development. It’s vital to then understand how this has impacted your life as well as those around you.
If you’ve had to pay for extra medical treatment, medication or take time off of work, then these can all put you under financial strain at a time when you really don’t need that.
As part of your claim, we would aim to cover all of the out-of-pocket expenses caused by the negligence you suffered. This can even include things like accommodation and travel costs.
Finally, we’ll also take into consideration the impact that the negligence has had on your social life and career.
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If you don’t think you’re getting the level of service or satisfactory advice from your current solicitor, we’d be happy to discuss switching your case to Nash & Co Solicitors. Just call our team on 01752 827085 or contact us online.
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We totally understand where you’re coming from. With all the problems that the NHS is going through, you might feel now’s not the time to make a claim.
However, making a claim against the health authority or hospital trust that handled your cancer misdiagnosis and treatment will not directly affect the hospital or staff. That’s because all NHS cancer misdiagnosis payouts are handled by a body called NHS Resolution.
This is the organisation that the Government set up in order to handle compensation claims. NHS Resolution is an independent body and essentially acts as an insurance provider for NHS Trusts. Every year, each Trust will pay an amount to NHS Resolution, just like you do for car or home insurance. When a successful claim is made, NHS Resolution makes the compensation payout on behalf of the Trust concerned. This means that your claim won’t take money away from other patients being treated.
If you have any other questions about making a cancer misdiagnosis claim, please don’t hesitate to call our team on 01752 827085.
What our clients say
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I used Nash & Co to make a personal injury claim after an accident. I was informed of the progress at every step and felt that the service I was receiving was both personal and professional.
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Mike Shiers has been absolutely outstanding helping me to navigate through a legal claim which had been submitted by my wife before she had passed away. The case has now been brought to a satisfactory conclusion.
5* Google Review
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Mike Shiers and his team have been incredible. After suffering an injury to my knee and wrist caused by a 3rd party, I was put in touch with Mike from Nash & Co. I have to say, he and his team have been nothing short of incredible from start to finish.
5* Google review
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Had Marie dealing with a case for me after an accident and I could not fault the service I received along the way. Clear communication throughout and outstanding effort to get me the best end result but also making sure I received the medical treatment I required along the way. Would recommend them to everybody.
5* Google review
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I had the pleasure of using Nash and co recently. My dealings with Mike and the team were always professional and friendly. What set them apart though was their attention to detail and genuine care for their clients. They were really invested in getting the best outcome for their client. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again in the future.
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I have recently used the services of Nash and Co and found Mrs M Oxland to be very efficient and communicative. She kept me appraised of all developments throughout the process. I would definitely recommend her.
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Meet the Medical Negligence team
Get in touch
Fill out the form below and let us know whether you would like us to call you, or email you. One of our Medical Negligence team will be in touch as soon as we can.
If your enquiry is urgent then please call us on 01752 827085.
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