Neonatal Death Compensation Claims.

A neonatal death is a tragic and heart-breaking event, and the pain and suffering of the parents is magnified in cases where their child’s death could have been prevented. Medical negligence can lead to the death of a baby in their first four weeks of life for a number of different reasons, including:

• Failure to diagnose and treat an infection in the mother before birth
• Failure to diagnose and subsequently treat preeclampsia (which is a condition causing high blood pressure in mothers)
• Failure to detect and manage gestational diabetes
• Failure to act quickly in cases of placental abruption (which is when the placenta becomes detached from the wall of the womb before birth)
• Failure to adequately monitor the baby’s heart rate during labour, meaning any fetal distress goes unnoticed
• Failure to carry out an emergency caesarean section where necessary
• Failure to adequately monitor the new-born baby, leaving complications and infections like jaundice, sepsis, Group B strep, or meningitis to go unnoticed and untreated
• Failure to provide active or passive cooling to a baby deprived of oxygen at birth
• Failure to resuscitate a baby or provide oxygen in cases of birth asphyxia (which is a lack of oxygen to the brain)
• Failure to treat umbilical cord issues, for example if the umbilical cord is too short or too long
• Failure to care for the new-born baby adequately, leading to fatal neonatal hypoglycaemia (which is low blood sugar)
• Failure to provide the expected level of treatment and care during pregnancy, resulting in a premature birth

If you have experienced any of the above, or any other form of clinical negligence which you feel directly contributed to the death of your baby, our medical negligence team can help you investigate what happened and claim compensation, which can help to provide you with financial assistance and achieve justice for your child.

Losing a baby is the most heart-breaking thing any parent could ever experience, and as you process your grief, the thought of making a claim for compensation may be the furthest thing from your mind. However, we do recommend pursuing legal action after losing your baby due to medical negligence, for a number of reasons:

• An investigation will be carried out, which can provide you with answers to what happened, some people find this helps them process their grief
• We can seek to get you a formal apology from those responsible for your baby’s death
• The money awarded in a compensation claim can help you to cover the costs of therapy and counselling as you process the traumatic event of losing your child
• A compensation award provides a financial buffer allowing you to take time away from work in order to grieve without the added burden of loss of earnings

We pride ourselves in handling each case with the necessary dignity, diligence, and sensitivity, ensuring we are on your team and fighting your corner as you seek justice for your child.

We are able to offer conditional fee agreements, commonly known as “no win-no fee”, which means that if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not pay any legal fees. If your claim is successful, we will deduct our fees from the final compensation amount you are awarded. We hope that by offering our services on a no win no fee basis, it will give you the peace of mind that we are on your team and working as hard as we can to ensure that your claim is successful, without the worry of being out of pocket in the event your claim is unsuccessful.

An inquest is a formal investigation carried out by a coroner in order to determine the circumstances that led to a person’s death. The main purpose of an inquest is to establish how, where, and when the person died, therefore if medical negligence is suspected it may be necessary for an inquest into your baby’s death to take place. During the inquest, the coroner has the power to question key witnesses, such as medical and clerical staff at the hospital. The coroner may also allow interested parties, for example relatives or their legal representatives, to ask questions during the investigation.

It is not the intention of an inquest to determine who was to blame for the death, but rather to gather evidence and bring information to light which will likely confirm or refute the claim that negligent care contributed to the death of your baby.

Our medical negligence team are able to represent you throughout the inquest process, liaising with the coroner on your behalf, questioning witnesses, and keeping you apprised on any developments. We are also able to address any concerns you have and offer advice on the procedures involved in the inquest process.

The amount of neonatal death compensation you may be awarded will vary depending on your individual circumstances and the potential long-term affects you may experience after your loss, but it typically varies from several thousand pounds to six figure amounts.

Compensation can provide the financial support necessary to support your life after the loss of your baby, including:

• Loss of earnings due to time already taken off work
• Predicted future financial loss including further time off work or having to give up your job for a while
• The cost of grief counselling and therapy for you and your family
• The costs of travelling between counselling and therapy sessions
• Childcare costs incurred for any additional care that your existing children may require
• Funeral costs
• Bereavement damages including emotional pain and distress
• Any other expenses incurred as a result of the negligent care

We understand that no amount of compensation can make up for the loss of your baby, however we will endeavour to work hard on your behalf to ensure you are adequately compensated and able to grieve for your baby without unnecessary financial anguish.