If you suffered complications while giving birth which caused you to suffer a perineal tear, have you been the victim of medical negligence?
Complications during birth
During 2013, there were 698,512 live births in England and Wales. Of these, 45% were deemed to be a low risk of suffering complications while giving birth.
This means that just over half of women are at risk of complications when giving birth in England and Wales. This may seem like a large number, but it is important to remember that the risk immediately increases if the mother is over the age of 35 – as many women giving birth are.
There are also many other commonplace factors that increase the risk, including:
- Being overweight or obese
- High blood pressure
- Bleeding after 24 weeks of gestation
- Baby lying in the breech position
- Medical conditions such as anaemia, diabetes and Crohn’s disease
- Previous perineal or gynaecological trauma/surgery
There are also things that can happen just before or during the birth that can lead to complications, such as:
- An induced birth
- Assisted delivery
- Larger than average baby
- Long second stage of labour
- Mid-line episiotomy
Preventing complications during birth
If a mother has any of these risk factors, her birth must be closely monitored to ensure both she and her unborn baby remain well.
Even if a birth is managed to a good standard, it is still possible that a mother will sustain a perineal tear during the delivery of the baby. This will be highly unfortunate, but it is not necessarily negligent. Perineal tears do occur, even when a birth has been managed to the highest standard.
Claiming for a perineal tear
However, there are times when a perineal tear will result in a successful medical negligence claim. As a law firm, we handle many perineal tear claims, obtaining compensation for those who have been wrongfully injured.
The main reason these claims arise is that the tear was not diagnosed and treated in the aftermath of the birth. Consequently a woman has gone on to develop long-term issues with incontinence, the investigation of which has revealed a missed perineal tear.
There are also occasions when a perineal tear is immediately recognised but it is badly repaired. Or that a tear was directly caused by the negligent actions of medical practitioners – such as a midline episiotomy or mismanaged labour.
Contact us today
If you want to know whether you are able to claim for a perineal tear, please get in touch with our team to discuss your case.
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