NHS admit negligence during chaotic birth

Coping with the loss of a baby is unimaginable but tragically we know this happens all too often. Recently, a case has been reported whereby a baby lost his life whilst being born. The hospital failed to carry out checks in respect of the position of the baby and therefore failed to recognised the baby’s breech position. This resulted in complications during the birth which tragically resulted in loss of life. The Trust in question has admitted liability but settlement has not yet been reached.

The law, at present, allows a hospital in these circumstances to class the death of the baby as stillborn. A stillbirth is the death of a baby after 24 weeks of pregnancy before or during birth.

This in turn means that a coroner will not be involved and able to investigate the death of the baby at an inquest. The family therefore not able to have a public and independent investigation into the death of their baby.

In March 2019 the Government issued a consultation on coronial investigations of stillbirths. Proposals have been put forward and include: that coroners should have the power to investigate still births occurring from 37 weeks pregnancy and that a coroner should be able to consider lessons learned to prevent further still births.

This further builds on the Maternity Safety Strategy which supports the governments aim to half the rate of stillbirths by 2025. The most recent statistics released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that stillbirths were recorded at 4 in 1,000 in 2019, down to 3.9 in the first three quarters of 2020.

Despite there being no power for coroners to investigate stillbirths, there are still other ways you can have a tragic event such as the loss of a child during or before birth investigated. The hospital will carry out an internal investigation and all stillbirths should be investigated by the Health Service Investigation Branch (HSIB) too.

You can, of course, seek legal advice in relation to your specific circumstances.

At Ramsdens our highly experienced Clinical Negligence team, who have experience in dealing with claims of such a sensitive nature, involving the loss of a child together with injuries sustained during birth, are here and able to assist in potential claims. If you are concerned about the care received by you or a loved one please do not hesitate to contact us on 01484 821 500, fill out our online enquiry form or email us to discuss confidentially.