Stillbirth
When stillbirth occurs it is a tragedy for the child's parents.
Stillbirth is a term used to describe a baby who is born dead after at least 24 weeks gestation. If a baby dies before 24 weeks gestation this is known as a miscarriage.
Every year in the UK nearly 4,000 babies are stillborn and the rate of stillbirth has remained the same for the last decade, despite advances in medical care.
The most recent studies into stillbirth indicate that in just under half the cases the death could have been prevented with better antenatal care.
Often the cause of the baby's death cannot be determined. The most common causes include:
- congenital conditions
- problems with a placenta
- maternal illness
- infection
- death during labour.
If the stillbirth has been caused as a result of substandard care during the pregnancy or during the birth of your baby you may be entitled to compensation.
Pursuing a claim can be a very emotional experience and it can be particularly distressing for parents to learn that the death of their baby was preventable.
No amount of compensation can make up for the loss of a child but the process of investigating the case may provide much needed answers about what went wrong.
Some parents suffer a psychiatric illness as a result of the traumatic experience and may be so ill that they are unable to work for a time. In a successful claim they would be able to recover compensation for psychological pain and suffering and for any out of pocket expenses which may include loss of income or the costs of counselling or psychological therapy.
We have considerable experience of dealing with this sort of claim. We understand the sensitivities involved and the importance to parents of feeling that someone is 'fighting their corner'. Successful cases that we have pursued include:
- the stillbirth of twins as a result of untreated twin to twin transfusion syndrome
- a failure to recognise and treat preeclampsia
- a failure to recognise and treat maternal infection
- a failure to treat cervical incompetence
- the death of one of the twins due to lack of oxygen immediately before birth
For further information please contact one of the team. Alternatively please click here to complete a short enquiry form so we can assess your claim.