Medical Negligence* – Birth Injuries to Mothers
Women give birth every day and thankfully for the vast majority this will be a joyful time. Unfortunately some women suffer injuries from complications in birth, particularly where a difficult birth may require an emergency caesarean, forceps delivery or episiotomy.
Helen Coughlan
Medical Negligence Solicitor
Helen Coughlan is a partner and advises on medical negligence*, family law and personal injuries*. Helen is a qualified family mediator and collaborative law practitioner and is Chairperson of the Family and Child Law Committee of the Law Society.
Birth Injuries to Mother: Understanding the Risks
Some birth injuries are mild and unavoidable such as light bruising. Others birth injuries are more serious, such as tears, caesarean section or perineal infections. More often than not these injuries are natural consequence of the labour process and occur despite the high standard of medical care you have received from your medical team.
In a small number of cases, however, injuries can occur if the delivery of your baby or your aftercare has not been properly managed by the doctors, midwives and hospital looking after you. When such injuries occur, and it is clear the hospital staff did not provide the proper level of care, you can bring a claim for compensation for the birth injury.
Mothers are also at risk of significant injuries and complications from childbirth, which can lead to claims, including:
- Severe Perineal Tears: These injuries can have profound impacts on a woman’s quality of life, leading to complications such as incontinence and sexual dysfunction.
- Complications from Caesarean Sections: Surgical errors, infections, or poor post-operative care can lead to serious health issues for the mother.
- Anaesthesia Errors: Mistakes in administering epidurals or other anaesthetics can cause pain, paralysis, or other severe outcomes.
- Uterine Rupture: A rare but serious complication where the uterus tears during childbirth, often requiring emergency surgery.
- Postpartum Haemorrhage: Excessive bleeding after birth can lead to shock or other severe complications if not properly managed.
- Infections: Infections post-delivery, if not treated promptly, can lead to severe health issues and even impact future fertility.
- Nerve damage
- Ruptured uterus
- Injury to bladder, bowel or uterus during delivery
- Failure to remove instruments or swabs
- Incontinence
- Complications involving forceps delivery
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Maternal death
Symptoms may include pain, urinary and faeces incontinence, flatulence (wind) and painful sexual intercourse. These injuries not only affect you but may also impact on your family. You may be reluctant to discuss your symptoms, believing that they may be a necessary part of childbirth or feel that they are too embarrassing to discuss.
You may be confused about what happened and why. We believe you should not suffer in silence. We will treat you with compassion and sensitivity and advise you in very clear terms so that you can find out if your care has been substandard and whether you should bring a claim for compensation.
Seeking Justice and Legal Support:
Birth injuries fall into a specialist area of medical negligence law and can impact both the mother and child. They require an experienced legal team to deal with all aspects of these often complex and demanding cases.
We at Patrick J Farrell and Company will help you. We will obtain your medical records and guide you through the legal process. We engage barristers and experts with experience in dealing with medical negligence cases and in particular birth injuries.
If you would like advice regarding an injury suffered while giving birth, please contact us. We will listen to your account of what happened and advise you fully in relation to any claim you might have.
