Neonatal brain injury claims

A neonate is another word for a newborn baby. Neonatal means around the time of birth and the neonatal period usually refers to the first few weeks of life.

A newborn baby’s neonatal care may be the responsibility of a variety of healthcare professionals, depending on the health and needs of the baby and the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy and their birth. Babies who are born healthy may receive care from midwives, doctors and nurses both in hospital or at home, but additional treatment for complications may be needed from GPs and their staff, as well as A&E and ambulance services.

In hospital, babies who are born prematurely, unwell or who are small for their gestational age need specialist neonatal care. This usually takes place in a neonatal unit (NNU) or special care baby unit (SCBU) or a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), depending on the treatment, monitoring and breathing support needed by the baby. During this time, the baby’s health and well-being will depend on the care, monitoring and treatment provided by a multidisciplinary team of specialists, including neonatologists, paediatricians, anaesthetists, midwives and nurses.  

Neonatal brain injury claims are medical negligence compensation claims arising from brain injuries to newborn babies caused by negligent maternity, hospital, GP, community or emergency healthcare, at or immediately after birth, and any time during the first few weeks of life.

Neonatal brain injuries which most commonly lead to neonatal brain injury claims include:

• Perinatal asphyxia or HIE

Perinatal asphyxia refers to a baby’s lack of oxygen or breathing difficulties around the time of birth. An unborn baby’s heart-rate will be monitored regularly during a properly managed labour and delivery. If abnormalities on CTG fetal heart monitoring suggest that the baby is not receiving enough oxygen, steps should be taken to deliver the baby quickly to avoid damage to the baby’s brain. Specialist neonatal nurses or paediatricians should be called to be present at the birth to clear the newborn baby’s airway and provide resuscitation or ventilation to help the baby breathe. Injury to a baby’s brain from lack of oxygen around the time of birth is known as hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy or HIE.

Read more about HIE birth injury claims.

• Meconium aspiration during and immediately after birth

Meconium is the medical name the newborn baby’s first faeces (poo) that is normally passed soon after birth. Meconium is thick, dark green, and sticky like tar, unlike the yellowish coloured nappies of a baby who is fed on milk.

During labour and delivery, meconium in the amniotic fluid can indicate that the unborn baby is struggling to take in oxygen and suffering from fetal distress. If the newborn baby breathes in (inhales or aspirates) meconium, it can block the baby’s airway, which must be cleared as soon as they are born, to allow them to breathe. Delays in delivering a distressed baby or in clearing their airway of meconium and resuscitating immediately after birth prolong the period of oxygen deprivation (hypoxia) and increasing the likelihood of brain injury and lifelong disability from cerebral palsy and other types of developmental, physical or learning disability.

Read more about birth and neonatal brain injury from meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS).

• Kernicterus

Kernicterus is a rare but serious complication of untreated jaundice, caused by a build-up of a natural chemical called bilirubin in the baby’s blood. Jaundice is known for the yellow discolouration it causes in some babies’ skin and other parts of the body, such as the whites of their eyes. In most cases, jaundice goes away on its own, but some babies need phototherapy or exchange transfusion treatment to keep the bilirubin in their blood at a safe level. If the baby’s bilirubin level is allowed to get too high (hyperbilirubinaemia), it can cause injury to the brain. This type of brain injury is known as kernicterus.

Kernicterus is dangerous, but it is preventable with proper care. Claims for kernicterus brain injury usually arise after delays in referral, diagnosis, and treatment of babies with jaundice by hospital maternity or neonatal and paediatric staff, community midwives or GPs. 

If your child has suffered kernicterus brain injury, you should seek advice from a specialist brain injury solicitor with experience of kernicterus brain injury compensation claims.

Read more about kernicterus brain injury compensation claims.

• Infection

Untreated infection, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV), meningitis or sepsis, can leave a newborn baby with brain injury and severe neurological disability or cerebral palsy.

Neonatal brain injury claims often arise from delays in diagnosis, referral or admission to hospital or to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), or failure to administer intravenous (IV) antibiotics urgently to a baby with signs of infection. Claims can also arise from negligent mistakes during the mother’s pregnancy or labour which increase the baby’s risk of infection, particularly when the mother is known to carry group B streptococcus (GBS) infection, or has prolonged rupture of the membranes (PROM) with a lengthy period of time between the waters breaking and the birth of the baby.

Read more about meningitis, sepsis or group B strep compensation claims.

• Hypoglycaemia

Hypoglycaemia means low blood sugar (glucose). Neonatal hypoglycaemia is a common condition in newborn babies who are unable to maintain healthy blood sugar levels in the first few days of life before they are feeding regularly. Although common and treatable, neonatal hypoglycaemia can be dangerous if the baby’s blood sugar is allowed to drop below safe levels. If untreated, it can cause permanent brain damage and disability. Hypoglycaemia can occur alongside other serious neonatal conditions.

Neonatal hypoglycaemia claims arise when the baby suffers permanent brain injury and lifelong, severe neurodevelopmental disability from negligent delays in recognising that a baby is at risk of hypoglycaemia, escalating their care to a paediatrician or referring them to the neonatal unit, and mistakes in monitoring, testing, treating and safely maintaining the baby’s blood glucose levels. Claims can also arise from failure to provide appropriate safety-netting advice to parents when their baby is at risk hypoglycaemia and is being discharged home from hospital.

Read more about neonatal hypoglycaemia claims.

• Vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB)

Vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB) or haemorrhagic disease of the newborn (HDN), is a rare blood clotting disorder which affects 1 in 10,000 newborn babies. At birth, babies are unable to create their own vitamin K, a natural substance which helps with blood clotting and maintaining strong bones. This leaves them at risk of vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB).

VKDB affects each baby differently. Some babies bleed in their urine, from their rectum or from the mucous membranes in their nose and gums. For some babies VKDB will be fatal. Around one third of babies with VKBD bleed into their brain, causing permanent brain injury and serious disability.

To protect babies from VKDB and the serious injuries that it causes, it is standard practice for newborn babies to be given vitamin K, either by injection or orally, immediately after birth. Where the midwives or doctors fail to administer vitamin K to a newborn baby and the baby suffers permanent injury from VKDB, they may be entitled to claim compensation for their injury.

Read more about VKDB brain injury claims.

• Hypocarbia brain injury from over-ventilation

Newborn babies who are unwell or premature sometimes need help to breathe. After initial resuscitation, they may be moved to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) where their breathing will be controlled by a ventilator machine. 

Ventilation must be carefully managed to avoid over-ventilation, in which the baby’s carbon dioxide levels become dangerously low. This reduces the blood flow to the baby’s brain, which can lead to cardiac arrest, brain haemorrhage and brain injury disability, such as cerebral palsy, loss of hearing or vision, or injury to the baby’s lungs.

Claims arise when the baby’s injury from over-ventilation was caused by mistakes in monitoring the effects of ventilation on the baby’s blood gases and failing to correct abnormal carbon dioxide levels when they occur.

Compensation settlements for children with severe disability from neonatal brain injury are among the highest amounts that can be claimed for medical negligence. Whilst no amount of compensation can ever undo the harm that a child has suffered, the compensation aims to provide the child and their family with access to the help that they need to meet the extensive needs that arise from their brain injury disability. The amount of compensation depends on the severity and impact of the child’s disability, the cost of meeting their needs for the rest of their life, and other factors, such as their life expectancy.

Our clients benefit from early interim payments and outstanding compensation settlements which pay for care, therapies, equipment and adapted accommodation. As soon as we can secure an admission of liability and interim payment from NHS Resolution we start making a difference where it is most needed, whether that’s providing access to SEN educational support and assistive technology, professional help with personal care, specialist therapies and medical treatment, buying an adapted vehicle or moving the child and their family to a more suitable, fully adapted home.

Neonatal brain injury compensation claims are highly complex and must be handled by claimant specialist solicitors who understand the lifelong implications of these injuries, to ensure that the child receives the financial provision that they will need throughout their life to manage their disability.

You can find out more about the compensation we secure for our clients with cerebral palsy from neonatal brain injury in our guide to cerebral palsy compensation and by reading about our previous cases on our specialist cerebral palsy claims website.