When you and your partner become pregnant, you rely on the advice and treatment of medical professionals to take care of you and your baby. Where mistakes occur either before or during the birth that led to the death of your child, nothing can ever make up for your loss.
Sometimes in these circumstances, bereaved parents choose to pursue a legal claim in order to prevent other families from suffering a similar loss, to seek change to internal policies within the hospital or to claim compensation in order to help them access the best possible support.
If you have suffered a stillbirth, the last thing you need is more stress or complex legal processes to navigate. At Ashtons Legal, we will work closely with you, supporting you through the entire claims process to help you understand want went wrong, obtain answers to questions you have about the treatment you received and secure the compensation you deserve as easily as possible.
Our solicitors always approach birth injury matters, such as stillbirth claims, with the utmost empathy and compassion. Ensuring you receive close personal support throughout, we never lose sight of the people at the heart of these claims.
The compensation parents receive in these circumstances will never replace the baby that they have so tragically lost. This is not about the money; this process is ultimately about parents obtaining answers and clarity on why their baby did not survive. It is about preventing other parents not having to suffer the same level of grief they have had to endure.
Our stillbirth compensation claims solicitors can offer you the following:
- A free initial consultation on your claim
- No win, no fee funding
- A negotiation-led approach that means most claims are settled out of court
- Independently accredited expertise you can trust
- A very high track record of successful claims
- A sensitive, personal service to support you during this difficult time
- A free rehabilitation service to aid your recovery.
Have a question about stillbirth claims for compensation? Please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions About Stillbirth Claims or get in touch, and we will be happy to guide you.
Contact Our Stillbirth Claims Solicitors
To make a stillbirth claim, please contact our experienced stillbirth solicitors. You will be offered a free initial consultation to sensitively discuss the particulars of your case and plan the potential next steps.
You can get in touch by calling 0330 404 0776, emailing enquiries@ashtonslegal.co.uk or filling in the enquiry form on the right-hand side of our contact page.
Ashtons Legal Medical Negligence team
At Ashtons Legal, we care about our clients and are dedicated to building strong relationships. We strive to provide a bespoke service from solicitors who are friendly and approachable. The needs of our clients are at the core of what we do.
Our stillbirth negligence solicitors have considerable expertise in supporting clients who have suffered the loss of a child through stillbirth. You can be confident our solicitors are highly skilled and knowledgeable, showing compassion and empathy to their clients at every step of the process.
When we represent our clients in stillbirth compensation claims, we always make sure that we completely avoid the use of confusing legal jargon, explaining everything in clear, plain English. We understand that when clients seek our guidance, they are suffering from a heartbreaking situation and need specialist advice and support from solicitors who have experience and will also provide an empathetic service.
Ashtons Legal is an industry-leading law firm. We are acknowledged by the leading client guides, the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. We are also proud to hold many professional accreditations, including Lexcel, AvMa, Brain Injury Group, APIL and many more.
The senior members of our medical negligence team are recognised by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) as either Senior Fellows or Senior Litigators. In addition, the team are on the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel and Sharon Allison, our Head of Medical Negligence, is also a part of the Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA) Clinical Negligence Panel.
Stillbirth Claims Case Studies
- Settlement obtained for woman who suffered avoidable stillbirth
- Settlement obtained for the mother of a stillborn baby after numerous failures
How to Make a Stillbirth Claim
Our stillbirth claims lawyers at Ashtons Legal can navigate you through the entire claims process. You can be confident our team will handle everything on your behalf, providing an outstanding support service.
Our stillbirth negligence claims service includes the following:
- Assessing your stillbirth negligence claim
- No win, no fee funding
- Building your medical negligence stillbirth case, including access to experienced medical experts to support your claim
- Representation at Inquest, if required
- Drafting and submitting a Letter of Claim setting out allegations of negligence should we obtain supportive expert evidence to proceed with a claim
- Mediation processes to try and reach a settlement with the Defendant
- Representing you in court if necessary
- Access to our free rehabilitation service for ongoing health support.
To make a stillbirth claim, get in touch with our solicitors at Ashtons Legal. Below you can find more information about the specific steps involved in the claims process.
Our Stillbirth Compensation Claims Service
Assessing Your Stillbirth Claim
Our medical negligence lawyers will carefully review your case. We will listen to the circumstances and the impact. Doing this allows us to determine the merits of any potential claim. We can also advise you on the available funding options, including ‘no win, no fee’ funding.
‘No Win No Fee’ Stillbirth Claims
At Ashtons Legal, one of our funding options is ‘no win, no fee’, meaning you only pay our fees if your claim succeeds and you are awarded stillbirth compensation. Should your case be unsuccessful, you will not have to pay any costs towards the investigation, and Ashtons Legal will write-off all fees you have incurred. This is more formally known as a ‘conditional fee agreement’.
Building Your Stillbirth Medical Negligence Case
Our solicitors will carefully build your stillbirth claim by gathering all of the relevant evidence, including obtaining your medical records to better understand what happened, reviewing the outcome of any internal investigation undertaken by the hospital and/or any external investigation undertaken by the Healthcare Safety Investigative Branch (HSIB), obtaining your account of what happened and drafting a witness statement on your behalf and approaching and instructing medical experts who will help us to assess whether or not your treatment was substandard and ultimately led to the loss of your baby. By investigating the claim in this way, it allows our solicitors to clearly understand your situation, the events that led to the stillbirth and the impact this has had on you and your family.
Submitting the Letter of Claim
If the experts approached are of the opinion that the treatment you received fell below a reasonably competent level, our solicitors will draft and submit a Letter of Claim setting out the allegations of negligence and how this caused the stillbirth, which will be sent to the defendant. The Letter of Claim will also detail the impact that the stillbirth has had on your life and the level of compensation being sought.
If negligence is admitted, our team will value your claim and work with the hospital to negotiate a settlement on your behalf.
If the hospital denies the stillbirth was caused by substandard treatment, we will carefully assess their response with the experts instructed on our behalf. Provided the experts continue to support the claim, we will proceed to instruct a barrister on your behalf and issue court proceedings. Please be assured that even if court proceedings are initiated, this does not automatically mean that you will have to go to a trial. The vast majority of cases are settled without needing to attend a trial.
Mediation Processes
If the hospital admits responsibility for the stillbirth, we can help negotiate a settlement through an out-of-court process, such as mediation or arbitration. This can result in a much faster settlement of your claim than if court proceedings are required.
Court Processes
If mediation and other alternative dispute resolution methods are unable to provide a solution, our solicitors can represent you through court proceedings. We will be by your side at all times, as well as making sure you have the best possible representation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Stillbirth Claims
What is a stillbirth?
Stillbirth of a baby is the death of an infant that happens before birth (after at least the 24th week of pregnancy) or during the delivery.
Can you claim for stillbirth?
If you have lost a baby to stillbirth, which you suspect was caused by the negligence of a medical professional, you could be eligible to make a stillbirth compensation claim.
Medical professionals have a responsibility to provide adequate hospital care using their skills, experience and qualifications. Should they fail to do this and it results in the death of your baby, you could be eligible to make a stillbirth compensation claim.
Can you sue the hospital for stillbirth?
Yes, in cases where the stillbirth was caused by the medical negligence of an NHS employee, the claim is likely to be pursued against the employing hospital/Trust rather than the individual clinician.
How much compensation can you get for stillbirth?
How much stillbirth compensation you could receive entirely depends on the specifics of your case. Each case will have its own variations meaning there is no set amount that you will receive, but the compensation you could be entitled to can vary between a few thousand pounds to a six-figure sum.
Examples of heads of loss that you can claim within a stillbirth compensation claim may include:
- Pain and suffering, including psychological injury
- Loss of amenity
- Loss of earnings – should you need to take time off work
- Cost of psychological therapy, if required
- Funeral costs
- Travel costs
- Any other expenses relating to your loss.
What can cause stillbirth?
Stillbirth can, unfortunately, occur for many reasons. Examples of these include:
- Pregnancy complications
- Labour complications
- Preterm labour
- Problems with the placenta
- Birth defects
- Infection
- Umbilical cord problems
- High blood pressure
- Mother’s medical complications
- Stress
- Smoking
- Using illegal drugs.
Get in Touch with Our Stillbirth Solicitors
To make a stillbirth compensation claim, please contact our experienced stillbirth claims solicitors. You will be offered a free initial consultation to sensitively discuss the particulars of your case and plan the potential next steps.
You can get in touch by calling 0330 404 0776, emailing enquiries@ashtonslegal.co.uk or filling in the enquiry form on the right-hand side of our contact page.