Maternal injury
Here for you when birth doesn’t go to plan
Giving birth should be among the most exciting times of your life. But for some, that excitement is quickly replaced by pain and anxiety about what went wrong. When care during labour or delivery falls below the accepted standard, we’re here to help you understand what actually happened and what support could be available to you.
Speak to an Expert
The types of claims we handle
Here’s a closer look at the most common ways maternal injuries happen.
Suffering from a vaginal tear during birth
A severe tear during childbirth, particularly a 3rd or 4th degree tear, should be identified and repaired straight after delivery. When that doesn’t happen, you can be left carrying the physical and emotional effects for years, especially if the tear itself was caused by errors such as poor forceps use or a poorly positioned episiotomy. It’s always worth talking to us about what you’ve been through.
Signs of bladder and bowel injuries
If you’ve experienced bladder or bowel problems since giving birth, this is often connected to a tear that wasn’t properly repaired, or to damage caused during an assisted delivery. Ongoing incontinence, pain, or the need for further surgery can all be signs that something went wrong during your care. We understand how difficult this can be to talk about, and we’re here to provide compassionate support.
Pelvic injuries sustained during labour
Pelvic injuries sustained during labour, including pelvic floor damage and organ prolapse, can affect your life for years afterwards, which can be exhausting to live with. These injuries are sometimes dismissed as an unavoidable part of childbirth, when in fact they may have resulted from how your labour was managed. If this sounds like your experience, it’s worth asking questions.
Missed signs of Obstetric haemorrhage
A serious haemorrhage after childbirth might have been prevented, or its effects limited, by spotting and acting on the warning signs more quickly. If this doesn’t happen, the consequences can be devastating, ranging from a hysterectomy or blood transfusions, to a longer road to recovery than there should have been. We can help you find out what happened.
Uterine rupture during your labour
A uterine rupture is when the womb tears during labour. It should always be treated as a medical emergency, which can be a worrying experience to go through. If the warning signs of womb damage were missed, or action was delayed, the consequences can be devastating, for you and your baby. We’re here to listen to your story, and provide support moving forward.
Maternal mental health and birth trauma
A traumatic birth doesn’t require a medical emergency to affect you emotionally. It might be an epidural that didn’t work, leaving you in pain during a procedure, or feeling ignored when you knew something wasn’t right. These experiences can stay with you for a long time afterwards, sometimes needing therapy to process. We can connect you with the right support.
When You Need Us
Reasons you might seek support
Many of the people we support around bringing birth trauma claims have had similar experiences. If you experienced tears or injury during birth that weren’t properly identified, ongoing bladder or bowel problems, heavy bleeding that wasn’t addressed quickly, feeling your concerns were dismissed or difficulty coping emotionally, it’s worth sharing your experience with us in a free consultation. We’ll listen carefully to help determine whether what happened might amount to negligence.
PH’s Story
Recovering After a Traumatic Birth
During the birth of her twins, a series of errors, including a poorly positioned episiotomy and the misuse of forceps, left PH with a 4th degree tear. Two other firms had already told her she had no claim before she came to us. We requested the hospital’s own internal investigation report, found inconsistencies that had been missed, and secured a settlement that finally gave her a sense of closure.
Meet our Team
Our experienced team will be on hand to support you throughout the claim process.
What kind of support can a successful claim provide?
As well as investigating what went wrong, we also consider what financial support you will require moving forwards. That might mean funding for corrective treatment, physiotherapy, psychological therapy, travel to appointments, care provided by family members, or simply financial breathing room if you’ve needed time off work.
We’ll always talk you through what’s realistic for your situation, honestly and without pressure.
We work on a no win, no fee basis for the majority of birth trauma claims, so there’s no upfront cost and nothing to pay if your claim isn’t successful. We’ll also check whether you have legal expenses insurance that could help fund your claim.
How is medical negligence established?
To understand whether you have experienced medical negligence, we aim to answer two questions:
- Did the care you received fall short of what would have been expected from a medical professional?
- If so, did those failings cause you avoidable harm?
We work with independent experts to review your records and give us a clear, honest opinion. If we think your treatment fell short of accepted standards, that will form the basis of a claim.
Life Changing Stories
For Jack's* family, the road to justice took nearly two decades. It began with a mistake in a set of maternity notes, passed through [...]
Mary's* Story: A Life Changed After PVL Brain Injury at Birth*Names have been changed to protect the family's privacy.What HappenedMary's mother, Rosie, was just [...]
We are pleased to announce the successful resolution of a highly unusual and complex claim for damages as a result of alleged substandard care [...]
Abigail's Story: Seven-Figure Settlement for Avoidable Brachial Plexus Injury Caused by Shoulder Dystocia During Birth Abigail's* mother contacted CL Medilaw after she had concerns [...]
Oliver's Story: Cerebral Palsy – Birth Injury Compensation CL Medilaw secured a multi-million-pound birth injury compensation settlement for Oliver, a child who was diagnosed [...]
GP Settles Claim for Missed Diagnosis of Meningitis in InfantMolly’s (name changed to protect privacy) mother sought legal advice after multiple GP visits failed [...]
About Us
Women’s health claims can be complex areas of law. When you work with us, you can have confidence that you’ll receive the best support at such a difficult time. We are:
Client-First
At CL Medilaw, we don’t just see you as a case number; you’re a person who deserves understanding and support in pursuit of justice.
Tailored-Support
From the first consultation through to the result of your claim, we will listen, understand, and build the right plan together.
Fee-Assured
If you’re worried about the cost of bringing a claim, we offer No Win, No Fee with insurance protection to help secure your funding.
Results-Focused
Ultimately, everything we do is geared towards our main goal — achieving the right result for you and your family.
