At Nelsons, our team of medical negligence solicitors deals with cases relating to a variety of circumstances that have led to the untimely death of a loved one.
Sadly, we are increasingly seeing cases where a baby is born but has died due to medical negligence during the first 28 days of life (i.e. in the neonatal period).
The death of a child is the most traumatic and earth-shattering experience for any parent to endure and where there are serious concerns about the maternity care provided during pregnancy, labour, or following a child’s birth, this only adds to the distress of already grieving families.
Bringing a claim
In many cases of neonatal death, sadly nothing could have been done differently by medical professionals to prevent the outcome.
However, obstetricians and midwives owe a duty of care to mothers and their unborn babies to recognise and mitigate against risks during pregnancy, in labour, and after the birth of a baby. A failure to do this, which leads to injury or death of your baby, may give rise to a clinical negligence claim and therefore, a claim for financial compensation. Potential causes of avoidable neonatal death can include (but is not limited to):
- Failure to provide a mother with adequate antenatal screening and care, including a failure to identify and mitigate against individual risk factors
- Failure to diagnose and treat infection before birth
- Failure to diagnose and treat pre-eclampsia (which causes high blood pressure) before birth
- Failure to recognise and expedite delivery in cases of placental abruption
- Failures to adequately monitor a baby’s heart rate during labour and therefore recognise periods of fetal distress
- Delays in delivery causing the baby to be deprived of oxygen
- Failures in the care and treatment provided to a new-born baby
It can be extremely difficult to consider talking to a solicitor about what has happened. Our experienced Clinical Negligence team is here to support clients and their families throughout the whole process with compassion and sensitivity each step of the way. We recognise that no amount of money will ever compensate for the loss of your child but we strive to empower families to get answers and where appropriate, accountability for what went wrong.
Inquests
Following the unexplained or sudden death of your baby, you may also be contacted by the Coroner to inform you that a formal investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances which led to death during the neonatal period.
If following a review of the relevant documents (such as a post-mortem report and medical records) the Coroner is unable to satisfy themselves of the cause(s) of a child’s death, they will proceed to a formal inquest hearing where the medical professionals involved in the mother’s and baby’s care will be asked to give evidence to explain what has happened.
A Coroner’s enquiry is different from civil liability; the purpose is not to attribute blame to specific individuals and/or organisations but to establish how someone came about their death. Nevertheless, if shortcomings in care have directly attributed to the death of a baby, this may come to light in the inquest evidence.
In cases where the Coroner has concerns about circumstances that create a risk of other deaths occurring in the future, they have to make a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the relevant organisation or individual.
Reviews & investigations
Unfortunately, there have been repeated and ongoing concerns about the standard of care at maternity units, such as at Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust, and currently Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH). In those circumstances, external and wholly independent investigations are being conducted.
In May 2022, Donna Ockenden and her team commenced a large-scale and entirely independent review of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH). The review (currently ongoing) is looking into cases of serious and potentially serious concern in maternity services provided at NUH, including those of neonatal death among other circumstances. A police investigation has also been subsequently launched.
A new statutory body, The Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MNSI) programme was formed on 1 October 2023, to undertake investigations into brain injuries in babies and maternal and neonatal deaths and stillbirths. This programme is hosted by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and replaced the previous investigations conducted by the temporary role of the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB).
Whilst it is promising to see that a designated body has been set up to carry out independent investigations and make recommendations to improve services at a local level, these reports alone do not always provide all the answers families may be looking for.
There are a number of reasons why you may therefore wish to seek legal assistance to pursue a clinical negligence claim for the death of your baby, including to:
- Address the questions and concerns you have about the care provided;
- Helping to hold those responsible accountable for errors in care, treatment, and management;
- Obtaining compensation for your loss; and
- Helping to effect tangible change in procedures and practices by pushing for improvement in overall standards to prevent other families from experiencing the same.
How can Nelsons help?
Shrdha Kapoor is an Associate in our Medical Negligence team, ranked in tier one by the independently researched publication, The Legal 500.
Shrdha specialises in a wide variety of medical negligence claims, including claims against hospitals following the death of individuals detained under the Mental Health Act or admitted as voluntary patients.
If you have any questions about the topics in this article, please contact Shrdha or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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