How a Birth Injury Solicitor Can Help You

Having your child suffer an injury before, during, or shortly after birth is a situation that every parent dreads. Thankfully cases such as these are very rare; however, on those heartbreaking occasions that they do happen, it can cause a huge amount of emotional, physical, and financial suffering for the families who are affected. If you or someone you know is in this unfortunate situation, one avenue that may be open to you is to pursue a birth injury claim. Here’s an overview of what that means and how a specialist solicitors can help you with it.

What is a birth injury claim?

A birth injury claim is a type of medical or clinical negligence claim. These cases can be made where the medical care you or your child received was negligent or substandard in some way, and as a result, your child suffered long-term health damage. This could be anything from epilepsy or cerebral palsy to meningitis or a brain injury at birth. Normally, you can claim up to three years after your child turns 18, although if they can’t bring the claim themselves, there is no such time limitation. That means that even if your son or daughter was injured many years ago, this route might still be open to you.

How can a birth injury solicitor help me?

Making the decision to pursue a birth injury claim is difficult, and the process itself can be long and complicated. That’s why having a knowledgeable and experienced solicitor on your side is vital. They can help to get the best possible outcome for your family by offering expert advice every step of the way and ensuring that your case is thoroughly investigated. Most cases are settled outside of court, but if not, they will help you with the court appearance too.

The exact amount of compensation they can win for you will depend on a lot of different points, such as the severity of your child’s injury and how significant the negligence or error was. However, if you have a strong case, it can definitely be worth moving forward with it because you can claim compensation for both financial losses (including the cost of treatment and specialist equipment as well as loss of earnings) and non-financial losses (such as pain and lifestyle changes). Although it cannot make up for what happened, receiving compensation can help your family cope with the emotional, physical, and financial impact.

How much will it cost to make a birth injury claim?

As a general guide, the costs of making a birth injury claim are divided into the solicitors’ legal fees, legal expenses insurance, and miscellaneous extra costs such as court fees and fees for medical experts. Many factors will affect the total amount, so speak to your legal advisor to get an estimate of how much your particular claim will cost before deciding if you want to go ahead. Many solicitors work on a ‘no win, no fee’ arrangement, which means that you don’t have to pay them anything if they don’t win you any compensation.