Pregnancy and Gynaecology Compensation Claim Solicitors
If you’ve received negligent medical care during your pregnancy or while having a gynaecological procedure, our no win no fee solicitors are on hand to help make it right.
Medical professionals who specialise in gynaecology and obstetrics are heavily relied upon to provide expert care for women for their sexual health and during pregnancy. If their standard of care has fallen below the expected standard and this has led to injury or illness, you may have a legal right to claim compensation.
Below, we explain your legal rights to claim for a gynaecological error, or for negligence in your care during pregnancy.
When can I claim for a gynaecological error?
You can make a compensation claim for a gynaecological error if the medical care you received was negligent and this led to further health complications.
What types of negligence in gynaecological care can I claim for?
Compensation claims can be made for a wide range of gynaecological care, including, but not limited to:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of endometriosis
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of cancer, including cervical cancer
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy
- Errors in performing gynaecological procedures, such as LEEP and smear tests
- Misreading or not informing patients of test results
- Surgical errors made in procedures such as colposcopy, cervical cryosurgery, and pelvic laparoscopies.
- Surgical errors leading to never events.
- Failed sterilisations, leading to wrongful birth
- Failed hysterectomy due to surgical errors
- Failed abortions
- Incorrect implantation of contraceptive devices
- Negligent fertility treatment, including IVF
- Negligent care leading to loss of fertility
Specialists You Can Trust
We’ve handled hundreds of complex medical negligence claims — recovering over £105 million for clients in the last five years alone.
In addition to this, we work with leading medical experts to make sure your case is built on the strongest evidence and you receive the maximum compensation possible.
When can I claim for negligent antenatal care during a pregnancy?
Just as with gynaecology claims, you can claim compensation if you have received antenatal care during your pregnancy which falls below the expected level of care.
What types of negligence in antenatal care during pregnancy can I claim for?
Such examples of antenatal negligence during pregnancy include:
- Failure to recognise noticeable changes in the baby’s growth rate
- Failure to recognise or manage symptoms of infection in the mother
- Incorrectly prescribing medication, including medication errors or dosage
- Failure to recognise potential birth defects, including failure to inform parents, or incorrectly interpreting genetic tests
- Providing an insufficient level of screening, especially in the case of potential abnormalities
- Providing inadequate prenatal care, including failing to recognise potential risks during pregnancy
- Providing inadequate information regarding options to terminate the pregnancy.
- Failure to recognise or manage signs of pre-eclampsia, including Hellp syndrome
- Failure to recognise signs that could lead to your baby having serious medical conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Erb’s Palsy, Spina bifida and Group B Streptococcus.
- Negligence leading to complications at birth, including birth injuries and failure to treat injuries sustained during childbirth
- Negligence in childbirth leading to stillbirth or neonatal death, or the death of the mother.
Can I make a no win no fee claim for negligent gynaecological care?
Yes, you can make a no win no fee claim for negligent gynaecological care caused by medical negligence. Our medical negligence solicitors provide our legal services on a no win no fee basis, which means you can claim with the peace of mind that you are at no financial risk if your claim is unsuccessful.
No win no fee agreements are also known as Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA). When a no win no fee agreement is set up, your solicitor will take an insurance policy out on your behalf. The policy protects you against any costs incurred relating to your claim. These costs could include legal fees, medical reports, court costs, and other expenses.
Our specialist legal team can explain how a no win no fee claim works during your free, initial consultation with us, making you fully aware of your position at every stage of the claim process.
How do I start a gynaecology negligence claim?
The best way to find out your legal rights to make a claim for negligent care is to speak to one of our specialist clinical negligence claims solicitors.
Our experienced legal team will advise you on your legal rights, the amount of compensation you may be entitled to claim, and how long the process may take.
How much compensation can I claim for a gynaecological negligence claim?
Compensation amounts for a gynaecological negligence claim will depend on how severely the negligence treatment you received has impacted your life.
As each claim is unique, it isn’t easy to estimate the value of your claim without knowing the specifics of your case. Our experienced medical negligence solicitors will be able to advise you more clearly on what your claim might be worth during an initial consultation about your claim.
However, the more severe your illness or injury may be and the long-term implications it may have on your life, the more compensation you may receive.
The level of compensation you may receive will depend on several factors, including:
- The severity and type of injury you have suffered
- The level of pain and suffering you have experienced and may continue to experience
- Your medical costs to date, and the cost of ongoing medical treatment, and the care you may need
- Your loss of earnings, including future earnings
- The unique circumstances of your case.
The purpose of awarding financial compensation is to put the claimant back in the position they would have been in had the negligence never occurred. It is not to punish the healthcare provider.
What is the time limit to claim for gynaecological negligence?
You have up to three years to start your claim from when the medical negligence occurred or when you first became aware that the treatment you received was negligent.
In some circumstances, the three-year window for claiming is extended, most notably if the person claiming is unable to do so due to limited mental capacity. In this case, the three-year time limit does not apply and may only start if their condition improves to a point where they can claim for themselves.
We recommend you start your medical negligence compensation claim as soon as possible, as this can help us collect all the evidence we need to present the strongest case.
Who can I bring a claim against?
You can claim against any medical professional or organisation responsible for your negligent medical care. In cases of negligent gynaecological or antenatal care during pregnancy, this may include:
- NHS hospitals and NHS Trusts
- GPs and practice nurses
- Private health care providers, including private clinics and private hospitals
- Fertility centres and family planning clinics
- Genetics clinics and counsellors
What evidence do I need to provide when making a claim?
While discussing your claim with our specialist solicitors, we will ask for information you can provide to support your case.
Don’t worry if you don’t have all of this information. Our experienced solicitors can collect this information on your behalf.
Such information may include, but isn’t limited to:
Your medical records
We will build a comprehensive file including all records of treatment you received. This may include information relating to all correspondence, appointment notes, scans, procedures, test results and advice you were given.
Your experience
The more information you can provide, the better we can advise you of your rights and build the most compelling case on your behalf. Typically, such information includes a timeline of your medical appointments, your experiences, and the impact of the care you received.
How long does a gynaecology compensation claim take?
The timeframe for a gynaecology claim will depend on the complexity of the case. The length of time a claim may take will depend on how quickly liability can be established and how quickly a compensation amount can be agreed.
Our specialist medical negligence solicitors will be able to advise how long your claim may take once they start to understand the specifics of your claim.
Recent successful claims
£27m for child left blind with cerebral palsy at birth
Oscar’s family secured £27m after delayed response to placental abruption caused lifelong brain injury.
£2.8m for missed tumour in x-rays 6 years before diagnosis
Mrs K received £2.8m after a cancerous tumour was visible in x-rays years before diagnosis confirmed.
£950,000 for brain damage from untreated hydrocephalus
Jack received £950,000 after shunts weren’t removed, causing severe brain damage and memory loss.
What do I need to prove when claiming for negligent gynaecological care?
You will need to prove that the standard of care you received fell below the reasonably expected acceptable standards and that the healthcare professional was negligent.
To do this, our medical negligence solicitors will examine three key areas relating to the medical care you received during your pregnancy.
Duty of care
All healthcare professionals are legally required to provide a “reasonable” level of care to their patients. The first step is to discover if the level of care you received fell below the accepted standard. This is known as a “breach of duty.”
Causation
Proving that the actions of the healthcare professional were directly linked to the outcome. With regards to wrongful birth, establishing the link between the negligent care and the decision made regarding the pregnancy.
Damages
Providing evidence that the negligence has negatively affected anyone directly impacted by the negligence.
Why choose us
£105m recovered in 5 years
40+ years specialist experience
No upfront fees, maximum results
Why choose Wolferstans to represent you for your gynaecology or pregnancy claim?
Our team of dedicated specialist medical negligence solicitors has decades of experience helping clients claim compensation even in the most challenging circumstances.
With a proven track record of successful claims, often achieved without the need for you to attend court, we can make claiming medical negligence compensation as simple and effective as possible.
Wolferstans is Lexcel accredited, reflecting the excellence of our practice management and client care. We are also accredited by the Law Society for Clinical Negligence in recognition of the particular strength of our work in this area.
Our team includes members of a wide range of organisations related to their specific expertise in the area of medical negligence, including:
APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers)
AvMA (Association Against Medical Accidents)
Specific team members have been accredited by the Law Society, AvMA, and APIL as Clinical Negligence Specialists.
Our accreditations and awards
