Shropshire maternity scandal sees birth injury claims being made for both mothers and babies

Posted on 12th December 2019

An investigation has found that historic failings in maternity care are still not being learnt from at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust.

There are now a reported 600 maternity cases that are being investigated for birth injury negligence at the trust, with some cases related to poor care going back 40 years.

Birth injuries to mothers

In one instance a birth injury to mother is being claimed where sepsis developed throughout the birthing process. In this case, the mother wasn’t even told she had sepsis, and it only came to light when an investigation was launched.

Birth injuries to babies

In one case, it is alleged that a woman told the hospital her waters had broken but was made to wait 2 weeks before giving birth. Her son, who is now 15, has a range of disabilities after being delivered by forceps after being stuck in the birth canal. This mother was induced 2 weeks after first seeking help, after scans showed she had lost most of her amniotic fluid.

There are a number of other worrying incidents surrounding the care of expectant, new and bereaved mothers including:

Birth injuries to babies because staff failed to see when labour was not progressing as it should be
Failure to monitor heartbeats during labour, resulting in the deaths of some babies
Families being advised that lessons have been learnt when clearly, the same culture has existed for years
Multiple instances of correspondence from the trust where deceased babies are referred to by the wrong name
Instances of babies being referred to as “it”
Failure to involve families in serious incident investigations

Birth injury claims

If you have found yourself in a position to question the care you or your child have received, you may be able to make a birth injury claim for compensation. Our specialist medical negligence solicitors are on hand to give free initial advice to anyone who would like to discuss the details of the treatment they have received. Get in touch today to find out how Blackwater Law medical negligence solicitors can help you.