Medical negligence cases resulting in birth injuries are of course concerned with the past, and establishing what happened at the time a child was born.

However, a significant part of what we do on our clients’ behalf is just as concerned with the future.

We are currently representing a 17 year old girl whose shoulders became stuck behind her mother’s pubic bone during delivery (known as shoulder dystocia). The medical team failed to properly manage this at the time, using excessive force during her birth. As a result, she now suffers from Erb’s palsy, a form of nerve damage which means the movement of her right arm and shoulder are severely impaired. This has impacted on her quality of life in a range of ways, both physically and emotionally.

Our role in this matter is twofold; firstly, we are seeking to prove that the hospital’s actions were the cause of our client’s injury. In addition, we aim to show both the impact of the injury from the time of her birth, as well as how that injury will affect her into the future.

In preparing her claim, we are therefore required to assess her restrictions and how they will impact on her in the future, as well as what compensation will consequently be required in order to maintain her standard of life in relation to those restrictions.

This includes, for instance, the assistance she will require to perform domestic tasks once she is able live on her own, the costs associated with her ongoing medical treatment and physiotherapy, plus the cost of installing equipment and making home modifications to meet her needs so that she can eventually live independently.

We are also seeking damages in respect of how the injuries she sustained will impact on her future employment prospects. Her restricted movement in her shoulder and arm will mean that any sort of work involving physical labour is likely to be beyond her, limiting the type of jobs open to her and potentially impacting her earning capacity.

At DBH, we consider it a privilege to fight for people who have been injured as a result of medical negligence, and whose long-term quality of life is diminished through no fault of their own. Our commitment means that we will act on a no win, no fee basis so that a client’s financial status does not prevent justice and restitution being made.

If you would like to talk to us about personal injury and medical negligence, including birth injures, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with DBH Lawyers.