If you are a victim of medical or clinical negligence our highly experienced team of solicitors at Lanyon Bowdler can assist you in the event you wish to complain or seek compensation. For legal advice on making a clinical or medical negligence claim please contact Paula Nash, Head of Clinical Negligence or one of her team on 0800 954 9936.
Episiotomy and Vaginal tears
Vaginal tears are common place in labour. They can lead to complications or injury and are frequently the result of poor medical care.
Perineal tears are classified into 4 degrees:
• 1st degree tears where the fourchette and vaginal mucosa are damaged and the underlying muscles are exposed, but not torn
• 2nd degree tears are to the posterior vaginal walls and perennial muscles, but the anal sphincter is intact
• 3rd degree tears extend to the anal sphincter that is torn, but the rectal mucosa intact.
• 4th degree tears are where the anal canal is opened, and the tear may spread to the rectum.
Good medical practice dictates that an episiotomy will often be indicated to avoid tearing:
• Where there is delay in delivery due to a rigid perineum, and cutting it will expedite delivery and probably prevent a tear
• Where a tear seems imminent and an episiotomy is deemed preferable
• Instrumental delivery
• Premature delivery
Vaginal tears, poor repair procedures and episiotomy’s can result in long term complications and increased pain and suffering to include perineal trauma and healing complications. Faecal and urinary incontinence can also sometimes occur. Often with good medical practice and an appropriate standard of care, such complications can be avoided.
If you think you have not received the appropriate skill or care, and that this has resulted in an injury, you may be entitled to compensation.
Still birth
Sadly stillbirths can and do occur. In certain circumstances deaths may be the result of a failure to afford all appropriate antenatal care, or poor management of labour and delivery. Equally still births can arise in cases where there is no evidence of a lack of skill or care or negligence.
Risk factors for a still birth are said to include:
• low birth weight
• Age of mother
• Maternal health
• Chronic diseases eg diabetes, renal failure, hypertension
• Infection
• Substance abuse
• Multiplicity of pregnancy
• Maternal country of birth
• Gestation/prematurity
• Pregnancies with a raised maternal serum human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) level
• Forceps and breech deliveries
• Asphyxia, anoxia or trauma
• Pre-eclampsia
• Premature rupture of membranes
• Cord prolapse/antepartum haemorrhage
Where there is a known risk of a stillbirth antenatally, it is imperative that the mother undergoes all appropriate investigations and receives monitoring antenatally and in labour, with treatment or intervention as appropriate. A still birth is a devastating event for the parents and their family.
Birth Defects
Congenital abnormalities can only be detected with appropriate screening. Claims for compensation may arise in circumstances where there has been a failure to detect congenital abnormalities that ought properly to have been detected with appropriate screening to include ultrasound examination.
The purpose of the 18 – 20 week scan in pregnancy includes determination of whether or not congenital anomalies exist. Where abnormalities are detected the mother will be offered, in an appropriate case with counselling, a termination. In cases where there is a failure to detect abnormalities and a disabled child is born, a claim for compensation may exist.
For a free consultation call 0800 954 9936