Birth Injury Compensation Calculator – How Much Could I Claim?

By Stephen Moreau. Last Updated 25th July 2024. In this guide, we offer advice on birth negligence claims. If you or your baby have suffered unnecessary harm due to a medical professional breaching their duty of care, you may be eligible to receive birth injury compensation.

Within this guide, we will discuss when you may have a valid medical negligence claim, and the duty of care all medical professionals owe their patients. We will also provide examples of the types of evidence that could be used to support a birth injury claim.

This guide will also share how compensation is calculated, and how a solicitor could help you with claiming on a No Win No Fee basis.

To discuss your claim today, or to ask any questions such as ‘What is the average birth injury settlement in the UK?’, you can contact our team of advisors.

They are available 24/7 to help you and offer free advice. You can reach our advisors via any of the following methods:

A heavily pregnant person lying on a bed with their partner placing a hand on their forehead and a medical professional standing next to the bed.

Services And Information

  1. Birth Injury Compensation Calculator
  2. Am I Eligible To Make A Birth Injury Compensation Claim?
  3. What Is The Most Common Type Of Birth Injury?
  4. Tips On Proving A Claim For Traumatic Birth Compensation
  5. Is There A Time Limit For A Birth Injury Claim?
  6. Birth Injury Compensation Claims – No Win No Fee Legal Help
  7. Useful Pages

Birth Injury Compensation Calculator

You may be wondering if a birth injury compensation calculator will show you what compensation you will receive if you make a successful medical negligence claim.

While they can be useful, calculators cannot guarantee what you would get. Firstly, there is no average birth injury settlement. A payout is calculated by considering the specific features of each case.

Your payout might also involve compensation under two heads of loss, known as general and special damages. A calculator will focus on the former, but when you read the next section of the guide, you’ll see how special damages can form a very significant part of a payout.

General damages aim to account for any avoidable harm you or your baby experienced as a direct result of negligent treatment.

Those in charge of calculating the general damages portion of a payout could look at the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) for insight. The JCG is a document featuring guideline compensation figures for various forms and levels of harm.

Compensation Figures

The list you see below uses JCG figures. Like a birth negligence compensation calculator, it is only a guide. You should also note that the top bullet point is our creation and isn’t from the JCG.

  • A payout addressing multiple severe injuries, plus financial losses or expenses such as lost earnings, medical bills and care fees, could go up to or exceed £1 million.
  • Cases of tetraplegia, otherwise known as quadriplegia, may attract an award of between £396,140 and £493,000.
  • Paraplegia, or paralysis of the lower extremities, has a projected compensation range of £267,340 to £346,890.
  • For very severe cases of brain damage, the suggested bracket is £344,150 to £493,000.
  • For moderate brain injuries that have some impact on memory and concentration, the payout range is £52,550 to £110,720.
  • If negligent care leads to infertility with no aggravating features, the JCG suggests a payment of between £68,440 and £87,070.
  • The projected compensation range for a severe shoulder injury is £23,430 to £58,610.
  • However, the indicated award range for a serious shoulder injury is £15,580 to £23,430.

Special Damages

Your award might cover special damages in addition to general damages. This head of a loss recovers financial losses caused by the medical negligence.

Some examples of special damages include:

  • Loss of earnings for time spent off work to recover.
  • Medical expenses, including therapy and medication costs.
  • Carer costs if you require someone coming in to assist you, such as with washing.

You should submit evidence of your expenses, such as receipts or wage slips.

For further information about birth negligence claims and for a free valuation, please get in touch with an advisor from our team.

A newborn baby cries in an incubator

Am I Eligible To Make A Birth Injury Compensation Claim?

You might be wondering when you are eligible to make a birth injury compensation claim. To make a medical negligence claim, you first need to be able to prove that a medical professional breached their duty of care.

All medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care. This means that the treatment they provide must meet a minimum standard. While this standard can vary between disciplines, the General Medical Council (GMC) provides guidance for doctors in their Duties of a Doctor, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council provides guidance surrounding professional standards in The Code.

However, this alone is not enough to form the basis of a medical negligence claim. After establishing that a medical professional breached their duty of care, you then need to prove that this breach caused avoidable harm, such as a birth injury. These factors come together to form medical negligence.

If you or your baby have suffered a birth injury, and you are unsure whether you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim, you can contact one of our advisors. They can offer you free advice as well as answer any questions you may have.

What Is The Most Common Type Of Birth Injury?

There are numerous injuries that could affect the mother or child (or both) during childbirth, and certain issues may be caused or aggravated by a medical professional breaching their duty of care.

Examples of potential issues that could affect a mother include:

  • Pre-eclampsia – A potential complication of pregnancy that can do serious or even fatal harm to a mother. It could occur if a doctor fails to spot signs of the condition and provide appropriate treatment to the mother.
  • Perforated bowels – This could occur if, for instance, a mistake is made during a caesarean section.
  • Severe infection and blood loss – This could potentially occur if a midwife fails to ensure the placenta was delivered.

A child could also experience a variety of long-term or permanent injuries due to medical negligence during childbirth. Examples include:

  • Erb’s Palsy – This could occur if a baby’s arm or head has been pulled during delivery. This pulling could damage nerves in the shoulder, affecting the child’s movement and feelings in the arms.
  • Cerebral Palsy – A complication such as an infection or a temporary lack of oxygen to the brain could affect the development of the baby’s brain, leading to symptoms including difficulties with movement, development and coordination.
  • Facial paralysis or disfigurement.
  • Spinal injuries.
  • Breaks and fractures. Either the baby or mother could suffer a broken bone during childbirth.

However, there may be certain instances where you or your baby suffers harm during childbirth, but a medical professional did not breach their duty of care. For example, in some cases, a baby’s shoulder will need to be dislocated in order to deliver them safely.

For more advice about birth injury claims in the UK, such as whether you can use a birth injury compensation calculator, please contact our advisors for free today.

A woman lies in a hospital bed in a blue gown with a pained expression

Tips On Proving A Claim For Traumatic Birth Compensation

An important part of making a claim for traumatic birth compensation is being able to prove that the harm suffered was caused by medical negligence.

If you choose to hire legal representation, your solicitor can help give more clarity on what evidence you might need to help strengthen your claim.

Some examples of evidence that could be used to help prove a claim for traumatic birth compensation include:

  • Medical records: Medical records such as your patient chart can provide some insight into the treatment you received. This can include medications you were prescribed or actions taken during your care that could have resulted in the birth injury.
  • CCTV footage: Some hospitals are outfitted with CCTV. If you believe that negligent activity was caught on camera, you may be able to request the footage.
  • Photographs: Taking photographs of the injury creates a visual record of the harm you or your child may have suffered and may help to strengthen your claim.
  • Witness statements: A legal professional can take the statements of anyone who might have witnessed the suspected negligence. For example, if a spouse or partner was in the delivery room, or any other medical professionals attending to your case, they could potentially corroborate your version of events.

To learn more about how a solicitor from our panel could help you strengthen your case, contact our team of advisors today.

Alternatively, keep reading to learn more about why there is no average birth injury settlement in the UK, and to find out how birth injuries can occur.

Is There A Time Limit For A Birth Injury Claim?

For medical negligence claims, you generally have three years to put forward your case. The three years can start from the date of the incident or the date you became aware that your injuries or condition were caused by negligence. The latter is called the “date of knowledge”.

In other situations, these time limits may vary. For example, in child accident claims, anyone under the age of 18 will have three years starting from the date they turn 18. While they’re still underage, a litigation friend can claim on their behalf.

If someone doesn’t have the mental capacity to submit the claim on their own behalf, a litigation friend could do it for them. They have three years from a recovery date to submit the claim themselves. If they don’t recover, the three years will be paused indefinitely.

For further details on the time limits for medical negligence claims, call our team on the number at the top of the page.

A nurse in pink scrubs holds her hand over a pregnant woman's stomach

Birth Injury Compensation Claims – No Win No Fee Legal Help

A solicitor’s help can be beneficial when making a claim. Not only could they use their knowledge and expertise to guide you through the process of seeking compensation, they can also manage and handle key aspects of your claim.

If you can present a valid claim for medical negligence, you could be able to work with a solicitor and seek birth injuries compensation under a No Win No Fee agreement.

There are different types including a Conditional Fee Agreement. The terms of this typically mean you would not:

  • Pay a fee for their services upfront
  • Owe any ongoing payments for their services as your claim proceeds
  • Pay a fee for their work if your claim is unsuccessful

If you successfully claim compensation, they can charge you a success fee. This fee is legally capped under the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 and it cannot be charged as an out-of-pocket payment.

You can receive a free evaluation of your claim by contacting one our advisers. Outside of this, they could provide you with more legal advice regarding birth injury claims, and advice you on actions you could take to strengthen your claim.

You can contact an adviser now by:

  • Calling 020 3870 4868
  • Filling out our claim online request form
  • Chatting with an advisor via live chat at the bottom of the page

Useful Pages

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