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If you or your baby have been injured during a caesarean section, our specialist birth injury solicitors are ready to assist you in making a claim
Medical negligence can occur in a variety of ways when staff overseeing a C-section delivery fail to meet their duty of care to mother and baby. In some instances, the effects of caesarean section negligence will be immediately visible. Whilst in other instances, failures can come to light retrospectively
These failures do not represent a comprehensive list of all situations where it may be appropriate to make a C-section compensation claim. If you or your child has suffered harm as a result of the actions of a medical professional during the course of a C-section, you should seek expert legal advice from Blackwater Law medical negligence solicitors to determine if you could be entitled to make a claim for medical negligence.
If you or your baby have suffered because of c-section negligence, making a claim for birth injury compensation may be your best chance to recover some of your damages and hold people accountable for the injury.
A failed c-section can lead to long-term, adverse effects on you, your baby or your ability to fall pregnant again in the future.
Making a caesarean claim means you could recover damages if you have had to pay for extra care for yourself or your child, or if the damage caused to you has affected your ability to work.
A c-section, or caesarean, is a surgical procedure to deliver a baby, by way of incision through the stomach and the uterus.
A c-section may be carried out for several reasons. For example:
As a patient, you have the right to be informed about your options, to have your questions answered, and to make informed decisions about your healthcare. If you are considering a C-section, it is important to know your rights when it comes to requesting a C-section.
Claims that involve birth injuries, like C-sections, can often be long and very complex. It can often take a long time to establish all the facts of the case, and the effect that any negligence is going to have moving forward, whether that is to the mother or to the baby. It is therefore not always possible to give an accurate estimation of how much compensation could be received in a C-section claim.
The amount of compensation will depend on the severity of the injuries caused to either mother or baby and the ongoing effect the injuries will have on you or your child, as well as your family’s lives.
Compensation is awarded under what is known as general and special damages. You can learn more about how medical negligence compensation is calculated in this article.
Most medical negligence claims do not need to be taken to court to be resolved. In 2021 for example, just 3% of claims required a court to be involved in a resolution. It is therefore unlikely that you will need to go to court for your C-section claim.
You can read more about what happens when a claim goes to court here.
In medical negligence claims, generally, you have 3 years from the date you became aware of the negligence to make a claim. After 3 years, it can become difficult to have a successful claim.
There are some exceptions to the limit, for example, if the person who suffered from the negligence was under 18. In this case, the 3-year time limit only begins once they turn 18.
If the injury caused by a C-section is to a child, you will have until their 18th birthday to begin a claim, before the 3-year time limit starts. If the injury is caused to the mother, then you will generally have 3 years to make your claim.
At Blackwater Law, our medical negligence lawyers understand that the stresses and shock of complications following a c-section can take their toll on the family and impact your finances. That’s why we undertake all medical negligence cases – including those for C-section compensation – on a no-win, no-fee basis.
Blackwater Law operates all medical negligence cases on a no-win, no-fee basis, providing you with risk-free peace of mind. Blackwater Law is independently recognised as having a leading team of medical negligence solicitors by The Legal 500 – an independent directory of the UK’s top law firms.
Blackwater Law operates all medical negligence cases on a no win, no fee basis, providing you with risk-free peace of mind.