Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust Maternity Care Claims

If you or a loved one has suffered due to poor maternity care at Shrewsbury Hospital or the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, we may be able to help. Our medical negligence solicitors are already helping people in your situation claim compensation so contact us today to find out more.

Maternity services at hospitals run by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust have made national news due to an official review that started in 2017. The review, lead by expert midwife Donna Ockenden, investigated the standard of care in cases dating back 40 years after a series of tragedies including:

Stillbirths
Deaths of babies shortly after delivery
Deaths of mums
Babies suffering brain injuries after being starved of oxygen
Babies suffering fractured skulls or broken bones during delivery
Babies left with life-changing disabilities due to birth injuries.

The full Ockenden Report was published in March 2022 and found evidence that 201 babies could have survived if they had received better care. It identified 60 actions that Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust should take to improve care.

Mothers being denied caesarean sections and being forced into traumatic natural births due to an alleged fixation on "normal" birth targets is one issue that the report has highlighted.

If any of these issues has affected you or someone close to you, we may be able to help you make a No Win No Fee* claim. If you’re making a birth injury claim, your child may also be able to apply for legal aid to cover their legal costs.

Some of our existing claims are for negligence dating back decades. So whenever you were affected, get in touch today to find out more about whether you can claim.

Call our friendly team on 0800 121 6567 or use our contact form and we’ll call you back.

Your Compensation Claim

A compensation claim can cover medical or therapy costs and lost income. If your child has suffered a birth injury, it can give them the secure future they deserve. It can also help you get answers about how or why you got negligent treatment – you may even be able to get an apology from those responsible.

The number of cases involved means that you may also have the opportunity to join a group claim with other people who’ve been affected. This speed up your claim while you share evidence, expertise, and resources.

We’ve already asked the NHS Trust to set up a co-ordinated scheme to investigate all legal cases to handle claims quickly and efficiently. We’ve pioneered similar successful schemes in the past to help people who’ve been affected by a wide range of medical negligence issues.

If you have a claim, we’ll make sure it’s part of any group claim or scheme available to give you the best possible result.

You’re Not Alone

The Ockenden Review was an official investigation into maternity care at the Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust, led by healthcare advisor Donna Ockenden.

The investigation started by looking at 23 cases but eventually covered near 1,600 cases between 2000 and 2019. Insufficient staff training, deaths being dismissed or not investigated properly, and a culture of not listening to families were among the issues identified in the final report.

Ms Ockenden has made numerous recommendations for both the Trust and maternity services across England based on the investigation's findings.

We’re already helping a number of families affected by these and other issues. We understand how difficult it can be to talk about such traumatic events and you’ll have the full support of our friendly team throughout your claim.

We’ll help you access whatever medical care, therapy or rehabilitation you need to recover, and put you in touch with support groups and charities. Our Asset Management team can also offer financial advice to help you get the most out of your compensation, now and in the future. For children with brain injuries, we can give you a full plan to support them through their whole life.

No Win No Fee Claims

A No Win No Fee claim means you can claim compensation with no financial risk to you*. If your claim doesn’t succeed, you pay nothing at all. If it does succeed, our legal costs are paid for from your compensation.

You may also be able to apply for legal aid if you are making a birth injury claim, or cover your legal costs with legal expenses insurance. Many household insurance policies include legal expenses insurance, so it’s worth checking if you have this.

We'll explain all your options and answer any questions you might have before we do anything so there are no nasty surprises.

Call us today on 0800 121 6567 or contact us online to find out more

Access to support and rehabilitation coordinators

Links with support groups and charities

In-house public law and Court of Protection experts

Advice from our Asset Management team on how to take care of your compensation

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Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust Maternity Care Claims - More Information

They were always there to answer my questions and queries when I was at my most vulnerable and they persevered to obtain the best possible result."

Lisa, client

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is A Birth Injury?

The Ockenden Review is only considering cases where babies who have suffered injury due to birth asphyxia, which can cause cerebral palsy. This is addition to stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths.

However, our investigations cover a wider range of birth injuries.

Birth injuries relate to any injury to a child that happens immediately before, during, or after delivery. A birth injury is different to a birth defect, which is when damage is caused while the foetus is still in the womb.

Mothers can also be injured during childbirth. See our birth injury to mothers claims page for more information.

Types of birth injury include:

Cerebral Palsy (due to lack of oxygen or hypoxia which can cause brain injury)
Erb's palsy (brachial palsy)
Facial paralysis
Spinal injuries
Fractured bones
Kernicterus, caused by untreated jaundice.

Birth injuries are sometimes unavoidable due to medical complications but they can also happen when medical staff failed to provide adequate care.

This might include mistakes made during delivery or failing to monitor and react to a child’s vital signs. If you’ve been affected by a birth injury caused by poor medical care, you may be able to make a birth injury compensation claim.

Call us free on 0800 121 6567 or contact us online to find out more about how we can help

What Support Is There For Families Affected By Birth Injuries?

As well as helping you claim compensation, we’ll help you access the resources you need to manage your child’s ongoing care needs and support them in living as independently as possible.

During your claim we can put you in touch with a dedicated support and rehabilitation coordinators to help you with:

Planning for long-term care needs
Arranging rehabilitation and physical therapy services
Organising home adaptations
Choosing and sourcing mobility aids
Liaising with social services, charities and support groups.

Sometimes a birth injury means that your child has reduced mental capacity and won’t be able to manage their own affairs when they grow up. We can help you ensure their best interests are always put first and that their compensation settlement is looked after – see our Court of Protection section for more information.

We can also help you manage your compensation settlement to make sure it provides the very best support for the rest of your child’s life. This includes financial planning advice, investment advice and investment management - find out more about asset management

How Do Group Claims Work?

We’ll ask you for some details about your compensation claim and check if it meets the criteria for joining a group. This may involve consulting independent experts or a specialist barrister.

In some cases, a Group Litigation Order (GLO) will be appropriate. If so, and your claim meets the criteria we’ll apply for your claim to join the group.

The GLO will specify what information we have to provide and will usually give a court-appointed cut-off date for applications. If the group claim goes to court, the court may select a number of ‘test cases’ that it will use to assess common issues between all claims in the group.

This saves time instead of hearing each claim individually. You will only have to give evidence in court if your claim is selected as a test case. If you think you might be able to join a group claim or would like to know more about the process, contact us online for more information.

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