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Twin pregnancy birth injury claims

Our medical negligence solicitors secure life-changing compensation settlements in twin birth injury, neonatal brain injury and maternal birth trauma claims for mothers and babies who have been severely injured as a result of negligent maternity and neonatal care.

Mothers who are expecting more than one baby need specialist maternity care. Twin pregnancies must be carefully monitored for harmful conditions such as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), and also have a higher risk of complications, such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), pre-eclampsia, and gestational (pregnancy-related) diabetes.

Twin pregnancies must be treated as high risk throughout the mother’s antenatal care, labour and delivery, and in the neonatal (newborn) period immediately after birth. Regular scanning and monitoring throughout pregnancy, and careful planning, monitoring and management of the delivery are essential to ensure a safe outcome for the mother and her babies.

If you, or your children, have been injured by negligent maternity or neonatal care, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

Starting your twin pregnancy birth injury claim

For more than 30 years, Boyes Turner's medical negligence solicitors have guided injured patients and their families through the claims process to secure the compensation and specialist support that they need to manage their disability and rebuild their lives.

You can contact us by telephone or email for free, confidential advice from a medical negligence solicitor. We will ask you to tell us briefly about your own or your child’s injury and your maternity and neonatal care, and advise you about any time limits which may apply and whether we can help you investigate your claim. Once our investigations confirm you have grounds for a claim, we will notify the defendant healthcare provider (usually represented by NHS Resolution) on your behalf and invite them to respond, giving them an opportunity to admit liability (responsibility for your injuries) before court proceedings are issued.

If liability is admitted, we will obtain a judgment from the court and apply for a substantial interim payment to meet your needs arising from your injury and disability. If NHS Resolution deny liability, we will advise you about the best way to proceed with your claim. This may involve issuing court proceedings or inviting NHS Resolution to enter into settlement negotiations or mediation. 

£2.2 million compensation
£2,225,000 compensation for brain-injured boy after twin to twin transfusion caused cerebral palsy
Read the story

Our cerebral palsy lawyers have secured a £2,225,000 compensation settlement for a boy whose brain was severely damaged when he was deprived of oxygen in the womb during a twin to twin transfusion.

"Our client has severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy with cortical visual impairment and severe learning difficulties. He has been fed throughout his life by gastrostomy and will need full time care for the remainder of his shortened life."

Previous twin pregnancy birth injury cases

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What our clients say

"Birth negligence"

In what can only be described as a stressful process dealing with Birth Negligence for your child, Boyes Turner, specifically Richard Money Kyrle and Tara Byrne made the process as smooth, efficient, and with a high level of understanding and empathy as possible. Each part of the process was explained clearly in layman's terms so I had a clear idea of what to expect and also a timeline of how long each process would take. Both Richard and Tara were always an email or phone call away and having to divulge such past traumatic events was done with the utmost respect and empathy. My son's case has now settled and thanks to all the hard work and fighting for justice we are able to move towards a bright future.

Boyes Turner Client

Twin pregnancy birth injury FAQs

What are the different types of twin pregnancy?

We tend to think of twins as identical or non-identical. However, during pregnancy, twins are classified by whether the babies share the placenta and its membranes. The type of twins determines the risk and the level of specialist care that the mother should receive throughout her pregnancy, labour, and delivery. There are three types of twins:

  • DCDA or dichorionic diamniotic twins. DCDA twins each have their own placenta with its own separate inner membrane (amnion) and outer membrane (chorion). All non-identical twins and one third of identical twins are DCDA. DCDA twins have the lowest risk of all twin pregnancies.
  • MCDA or monochorionic diamniotic twins. MCDA twins share the same placenta with one outer membrane (chorion) and two inner membranes (amnion). Around two thirds of all identical twins are MCDA. Twins who are MCDA  are at greatest risk of developing twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). MCDA twins need more frequent scans and monitoring than DCDA twins. Women who are expecting MCDA twins may be referred to a fetal medicine centre for specialist care during pregnancy.
  • MCMA or monochorionic monoamniotic twins. Only 1% (1 in 100) pairs of identical twins are MCMA. MCMA twins share both the inner and outer membranes. MCMA twins need specialist care, frequent scans and close monitoring during pregnancy, as they have a higher risk of life-threatening injury to the babies from cord entanglement.  

Parents can find out which type of twins they have at the antenatal ultrasound scan appointment between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy.

What are the risks and complications of twin pregnancy?

Having twins, triplets or other multiples increases the risk of developing many of the complications of pregnancy. These complications include:

  • Premature birth - Premature newborn babies’ organs may not have fully developed at birth, increasing their risk of injury from serious conditions which require early diagnosis and treatment, such as blindness from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). They need help with breathing, feeding, controlling their body temperature or fighting infection, and usually need specialist care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU or SCBU).
  • Anaemia in pregnancy can be caused by lack of iron but may be treated with changes in diet or supplements, such as iron tablets and folic acid. Untreated anaemia increases the risk of life-threatening injury to the mother and unborn baby from harmful conditions, such as IUGR (intra-uterine growth restriction), infection, heart failure and bleeding.
  • Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) - Babies with IUGR don’t grow at the expected rate for their gestational age (number of weeks of pregnancy). It is normal for twins to be slightly smaller than single babies, but IUGR can be life-threatening for unborn twins if it is caused by problems with the umbilical cord or the placenta. 
  • High blood pressure (hypertension) in twin pregnancy increases the risk of detachment of the placenta (placental abruption).
  • Pre-eclampsia - If a pregnant woman has signs of pre-eclampsia she must be monitored carefully and treated to avoid serious injury to herself and her baby/babies. Treatment for pre-eclampsia usually involves admission to hospital, bed rest, medication and careful monitoring, to bring the mother’s blood pressure down to safe levels.
  • HELLP syndrome is a life-threatening atypical form of pre-eclampsia which takes its name from key features of the condition: Haemolysis (breakdown of red blood cells), Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelet count (affecting blood clotting). HELLP develops late in pregnancy and is often misdiagnosed, delaying urgent treatment to deliver the babies and give the mother a blood transfusion. If HELLP is left untreated, the mother may become critically ill or die from liver rupture or stroke. The unborn babies may be stillborn or suffer brain injury from placental failure or abruption.

Gestational diabetes refers to when a woman develops diabetes in pregnancy. In severe cases, the mother may need tablets or insulin injections to keep her blood sugar within safe levels. Gestational diabetes must be diagnosed, monitored and kept under control as it increases the risk of developing other complications of pregnancy, such as high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, shoulder dystocia, stillbirth, prematurity, and respiratory difficulties, neonatal hypoglycaemia and jaundice for the newborn baby.

What is twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS)?

Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome or TTTS is a serious complication of twin pregnancy which occurs when abnormalities in the blood vessels of the placenta allow more blood to flow to one twin than the other. The twin who receives less blood (the ‘donor twin’) is left undernourished and anaemic. The twin who receives too much blood (the ‘recipient twin’) may suffer heart failure from their cardiovascular system becoming overloaded, and complications from too much amniotic fluid.

When TTTS is suspected in a twin pregnancy, frequent ultrasound scanning must take place to monitor the babies’ growth and health. The mother may need to be referred urgently to a fetal medicine centre for specialist treatment. Any delays in diagnosis of TTTS or referral to a specialist fetal medicine centre for treatment can result in death or brain injury to the unborn babies.

What are twin breech delivery negligence claims?

When an unborn baby is positioned with their bottom or feet down (instead of head down) in the last weeks of pregnancy, this is known as a breech presentation.

In twin or multiple pregnancies, it is important that the method and timing of the babies’ delivery is carefully planned in advance with the mother and an experienced obstetrician. Twin births should be managed in hospital under the care of a multidisciplinary maternity team including midwives, an obstetrician and paediatricians. Throughout labour and delivery, the unborn twins must be monitored carefully with electronic fetal heart monitoring.

Twin births are often recommended to take place by caesarean section, especially if the first twin is in the breech position or the second twin is in transverse position. Vaginal breech deliveries of twins need careful management by obstetricians who are skilled in handling the complications of multiple births and vaginal breech delivery.

Severe brain injury to babies and birth injury compensation claims commonly arise from maternity emergencies in which inexperienced or unskilled junior obstetricians are left to manage unplanned vaginal breech deliveries.

What kind of mistakes lead to twin pregnancy birth injury claims?

Birth injury compensation claims arising from negligent maternity care during twin pregnancy and birth  often involve one or more of the following mistakes:

  • failing to inform the mother about options, risks and benefits of different types of care;
  • failing to plan the method and timing of a twin birth with the mother and senior obstetrician;
  • inadequate antenatal monitoring, scanning or other tests;
  • delay or failure to diagnose, monitor and treat complications (e.g. TTTS, gestational diabetes, IUGR, hypertension, pre-eclampsia);
  • delaying or failing to refer a mother with TTTS for specialist review;
  • delay in delivery;
  • failure to arrange or carry out a caesarean section, where needed;
  • negligent management of breech delivery;
  • negligent resuscitation or neonatal care of premature or twin babies;
  • failure to diagnose, monitor and treat premature or newborn twin babies for neonatal conditions (e.g. retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), hypoglycaemia, jaundice);
  • birth trauma to the mother from birth injury or twin pregnancy complications (e.g. pre-eclampsia, HELLP).

What type of injuries lead to twin birth injury claims?

Our experienced birth injury solicitors investigate the cause and full extent of each client’s injury carefully, to ensure that our client receives their full entitlement to compensation. This includes ensuring that the long-term consequences of their injury, such as future developmental or increasing disability, are understood and taken into account when assessing their future needs and the value of the claim.

Birth and neonatal injuries which often lead to twin pregnancy negligence compensation claims include:

 

What are the different types of twin pregnancy?

We tend to think of twins as identical or non-identical. However, during pregnancy, twins are classified by whether the babies share the placenta and its membranes. The type of twins determines the risk and the level of specialist care that the mother should receive throughout her pregnancy, labour, and delivery. There are three types of twins:

  • DCDA or dichorionic diamniotic twins. DCDA twins each have their own placenta with its own separate inner membrane (amnion) and outer membrane (chorion). All non-identical twins and one third of identical twins are DCDA. DCDA twins have the lowest risk of all twin pregnancies.
  • MCDA or monochorionic diamniotic twins. MCDA twins share the same placenta with one outer membrane (chorion) and two inner membranes (amnion). Around two thirds of all identical twins are MCDA. Twins who are MCDA  are at greatest risk of developing twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). MCDA twins need more frequent scans and monitoring than DCDA twins. Women who are expecting MCDA twins may be referred to a fetal medicine centre for specialist care during pregnancy.
  • MCMA or monochorionic monoamniotic twins. Only 1% (1 in 100) pairs of identical twins are MCMA. MCMA twins share both the inner and outer membranes. MCMA twins need specialist care, frequent scans and close monitoring during pregnancy, as they have a higher risk of life-threatening injury to the babies from cord entanglement.  

Parents can find out which type of twins they have at the antenatal ultrasound scan appointment between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy.

What are the risks and complications of twin pregnancy?

Having twins, triplets or other multiples increases the risk of developing many of the complications of pregnancy. These complications include:

  • Premature birth - Premature newborn babies’ organs may not have fully developed at birth, increasing their risk of injury from serious conditions which require early diagnosis and treatment, such as blindness from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). They need help with breathing, feeding, controlling their body temperature or fighting infection, and usually need specialist care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU or SCBU).
  • Anaemia in pregnancy can be caused by lack of iron but may be treated with changes in diet or supplements, such as iron tablets and folic acid. Untreated anaemia increases the risk of life-threatening injury to the mother and unborn baby from harmful conditions, such as IUGR (intra-uterine growth restriction), infection, heart failure and bleeding.
  • Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) - Babies with IUGR don’t grow at the expected rate for their gestational age (number of weeks of pregnancy). It is normal for twins to be slightly smaller than single babies, but IUGR can be life-threatening for unborn twins if it is caused by problems with the umbilical cord or the placenta. 
  • High blood pressure (hypertension) in twin pregnancy increases the risk of detachment of the placenta (placental abruption).
  • Pre-eclampsia - If a pregnant woman has signs of pre-eclampsia she must be monitored carefully and treated to avoid serious injury to herself and her baby/babies. Treatment for pre-eclampsia usually involves admission to hospital, bed rest, medication and careful monitoring, to bring the mother’s blood pressure down to safe levels.
  • HELLP syndrome is a life-threatening atypical form of pre-eclampsia which takes its name from key features of the condition: Haemolysis (breakdown of red blood cells), Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelet count (affecting blood clotting). HELLP develops late in pregnancy and is often misdiagnosed, delaying urgent treatment to deliver the babies and give the mother a blood transfusion. If HELLP is left untreated, the mother may become critically ill or die from liver rupture or stroke. The unborn babies may be stillborn or suffer brain injury from placental failure or abruption.

Gestational diabetes refers to when a woman develops diabetes in pregnancy. In severe cases, the mother may need tablets or insulin injections to keep her blood sugar within safe levels. Gestational diabetes must be diagnosed, monitored and kept under control as it increases the risk of developing other complications of pregnancy, such as high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, shoulder dystocia, stillbirth, prematurity, and respiratory difficulties, neonatal hypoglycaemia and jaundice for the newborn baby.

What is twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS)?

Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome or TTTS is a serious complication of twin pregnancy which occurs when abnormalities in the blood vessels of the placenta allow more blood to flow to one twin than the other. The twin who receives less blood (the ‘donor twin’) is left undernourished and anaemic. The twin who receives too much blood (the ‘recipient twin’) may suffer heart failure from their cardiovascular system becoming overloaded, and complications from too much amniotic fluid.

When TTTS is suspected in a twin pregnancy, frequent ultrasound scanning must take place to monitor the babies’ growth and health. The mother may need to be referred urgently to a fetal medicine centre for specialist treatment. Any delays in diagnosis of TTTS or referral to a specialist fetal medicine centre for treatment can result in death or brain injury to the unborn babies.

What are twin breech delivery negligence claims?

When an unborn baby is positioned with their bottom or feet down (instead of head down) in the last weeks of pregnancy, this is known as a breech presentation.

In twin or multiple pregnancies, it is important that the method and timing of the babies’ delivery is carefully planned in advance with the mother and an experienced obstetrician. Twin births should be managed in hospital under the care of a multidisciplinary maternity team including midwives, an obstetrician and paediatricians. Throughout labour and delivery, the unborn twins must be monitored carefully with electronic fetal heart monitoring.

Twin births are often recommended to take place by caesarean section, especially if the first twin is in the breech position or the second twin is in transverse position. Vaginal breech deliveries of twins need careful management by obstetricians who are skilled in handling the complications of multiple births and vaginal breech delivery.

Severe brain injury to babies and birth injury compensation claims commonly arise from maternity emergencies in which inexperienced or unskilled junior obstetricians are left to manage unplanned vaginal breech deliveries.

What kind of mistakes lead to twin pregnancy birth injury claims?

Birth injury compensation claims arising from negligent maternity care during twin pregnancy and birth  often involve one or more of the following mistakes:

  • failing to inform the mother about options, risks and benefits of different types of care;
  • failing to plan the method and timing of a twin birth with the mother and senior obstetrician;
  • inadequate antenatal monitoring, scanning or other tests;
  • delay or failure to diagnose, monitor and treat complications (e.g. TTTS, gestational diabetes, IUGR, hypertension, pre-eclampsia);
  • delaying or failing to refer a mother with TTTS for specialist review;
  • delay in delivery;
  • failure to arrange or carry out a caesarean section, where needed;
  • negligent management of breech delivery;
  • negligent resuscitation or neonatal care of premature or twin babies;
  • failure to diagnose, monitor and treat premature or newborn twin babies for neonatal conditions (e.g. retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), hypoglycaemia, jaundice);
  • birth trauma to the mother from birth injury or twin pregnancy complications (e.g. pre-eclampsia, HELLP).

What type of injuries lead to twin birth injury claims?

Our experienced birth injury solicitors investigate the cause and full extent of each client’s injury carefully, to ensure that our client receives their full entitlement to compensation. This includes ensuring that the long-term consequences of their injury, such as future developmental or increasing disability, are understood and taken into account when assessing their future needs and the value of the claim.

Birth and neonatal injuries which often lead to twin pregnancy negligence compensation claims include:

 

Why choose Boyes Turner?

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“Our clients receive the highest standards of advice and representation and are always treated with compassion, outstanding care and understanding of the physical, emotional, psychological and financial impact that life-changing injury can have upon their lives.”

“Our clients receive the highest standards of advice and representation and are always treated with compassion, outstanding care and understanding of the physical, emotional, psychological and financial impact that life-changing injury can have upon their
Our integrated multidisciplinary team offers our clients a full range of specialist help with compensation, rehabilitation, SEN, deputyship, personal injury trusts and community care.
We secure maximum compensation in claims for adults and children who have suffered catastrophic injury and severe disability, and provide practical support for their families.
We are ranked as leading clinical negligence experts in the Chambers Directory and Legal 500 guides to the legal profession and are accredited for our specialist expertise by the Law Society, AvMA, and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

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Leading medical negligence solicitors for over 30 years

Our solicitors’ expertise in medical negligence claims and their dedication to improving the lives of their injured clients has been recognised by the legal profession and disability charities for over 30 years.