Birth Injury

Perineal Trauma and Vaginal tears

How common are vaginal tears?

Vaginal tears are extremely common during childbirth, but severe tearing can have debilitating effects if not diagnosed and repaired in good time. The way your baby’s delivery is managed and the care you receive immediately after giving birth can determine how badly you are affected.

Failing to diagnose and repair a 3rd or 4th degree tear

Vaginal tears during childbirth can extend to the perineum and anal sphincter. If this happens, they should be recognised and repaired as soon as possible to prevent long term problems. This doesn’t always happen and a new mother can be sent home only to suffer distressing and embarrassing symptoms, such as pain, incontinence or urgency of bowels and bladder, flatus (wind), and difficulty with sexual intercourse and personal care. The injuries can also have a serious effect on a woman’s relationships and mental well-being.

Avoidable tears and pelvic trauma

Vaginal tears and trauma to a woman’s pelvic area is sometimes part and parcel of childbirth. But often, these problems can be avoided or reduced in severity with better management of the labour and delivery of a child. If a mother is asked to push for too long in the second ‘active’ stage of labour, particularly where it should have been known to the midwives and doctors that the baby was in a difficult position, such as ‘back to back’, or was expected to be large, then damage to the pelvic muscles can occur. This can lead to severe pain and serious consequences, such as prolapse and incontinence. Otherwise, the avoidable tearing can also be caused by improper use of forceps during delivery. Failing to perform an episiotomy to protect against tearing may also play a role, whilst not performing an episiotomy correctly or even at the right time, can also contribute to the risk of injury.

How can we help?

We are experts in birth injury claims and have acted for many mothers who have suffered these types of problems after childbirth. We can help you obtain compensation for your 3rd or 4th-degree vaginal tear or pelvic injuries.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

If you suffer a vaginal tear or perineal trauma due to medical negligence you may be able to make a claim.

If you are ever unsure if you have a case, it is best to contact a solicitor.

We can provide a second opinion free of charge. We have acted for many clients who have been told they don’t have a case, but by looking at the claim in a different way and with our expertise, we have gone on to be successful

All birth injury claims are different and this depends upon when a final prognosis is known and a claim can be valued.

Once we obtain an admission of liability in your case we can request an immediate payment to help with your needs and put support in place.

Medical negligence claims rarely go to court, with only a small percentage of the more complex cases ending up there. However, in the unlikely event that your case reaches court, we will be by your side throughout the process.

It is important to pursue your claim as quickly as possible due to time limits and to also enable us to help you obtain compensation as soon as possible. This is especially the case in complex cases as the process can be lengthy.

You have to start your claim within 3-years (limitation period) from when the injury occurred or when you first became aware of any potential negligence or injury as a result. 

There may be several options open to you to include legal aid, No Win No Fee and legal expense insurance. We can advise you on the correct funding method for you. We have designed a No Win No Fee package to protect you from paying any costs should your claim not be successful.

 

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Experts in birth injury claims

We have helped many families obtain substantial compensation for injuries suffered at birth, giving them financial security that has truly changed their lives for the better. Contact one of our birth injury lawyers today to see how we can help, at no cost to you.

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