Stillbirth Compensation Claims

Many of our cases are funded with a No Win No Fee agreement. This means that there’s no financial risk to you when making a compensation claim.

At the start of your case, we will discuss funding options with you, advising you which we think is most suitable. If you have legal expenses insurance (LEI) or are covered by a trade union policy, these may be best for you. Legal expenses insurance is included in many household insurance policies, so it’s always worth checking whether you’re already covered.

If we think you’re best supported by a no win no fee agreement, we’ll explain the process clearly. This involves setting up an insurance policy that will protect you, at no cost to you. You will only have to pay anything when your claim is successful – your opponent will pay most of our fees.

You will normally have three years to make a claim. This is counted from either the date of your negligent care or when you discovered that negligent treatment was responsible for the stillbirth. We urge you to contact us as soon as possible so that we can start looking at the evidence and building your case without delay.

If you have any concerns about the time limits for claiming compensation, we’ll be able to talk through your options in a free initial consultation.

A stillbirth is when a baby is born dead after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

If the baby dies before 24 completed weeks, it's known as a miscarriage or late foetal loss. A neonatal death is when a baby dies in its first 28 days of life.

Roughly 0.5% of pregnancies in the UK end in stillbirth. Most are caused by problems with the placenta or the mother’s health.

The mother may be able to wait until labour starts naturally. In other cases, medical staff may need to induce labour or perform a caesarean delivery.

While some stillbirths are natural and unpreventable, others happen because of mistakes made by the medical staff caring for the mother and child.

Many stillbirths happen in otherwise healthy babies and cannot be explained. But there are some causes that we do know about, including:

• Placental abruption - a separation of the link between mother and child
• Insufficient blood supply through the placenta
• Pre-eclampsia – an issue characterised by high blood pressure and protein in the urine in the mother
• Infection in the baby, placenta or mother
• Umbilical cord problems
• Gestational diabetes – high blood sugar caused when the mother’s body doesn’t produce enough insulin.

These conditions are not always fatal. If the symptoms are noticed early enough, medical staff can treat the mother and help her give birth to a healthy child. If staff miss the symptoms or fail to treat the conditions correctly, this may amount to medical negligence.

If you suffered from any of these conditions during your pregnancy and received substandard medical care, you may be able to claim for stillbirth compensation.

There are a number of things that medical staff should do to reduce the risk of stillbirths and neonatal deaths. The first step is to regularly check the baby’s condition in the womb. This means testing:

• The baby’s movements
• The baby’s heartbeat
• The baby’s growth
• Fluid around the baby
• The mum’s health.

Staff must then correctly interpret the results of these tests and react according to medical guidelines. If the results are unusual, they should refer the case to a consultant for expert advice.

Failing to take regular tests and react appropriately is medical negligence. It puts both mother and child in unnecessary risk and you deserve better.

If you have lost a child and think that medical negligence is to blame, we may be able to help you make a stillbirth compensation claim.