Shoosmiths Serious Injury

If I have a case about an injury to my child what do I do

When your child is ill medical professionals must be trusted to diagnose their symptoms and act upon them in a timely manner. Diagnosis in children can be difficult because the child may not have the language to describe exactly where their pain is. Indeed they may be too young to talk at all.

Parents are therefore reliant on doctors following the correct procedures in diagnosing exactly what is wrong with their child. Timely diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening illnesses such as meningitis can be crucial in avoiding serious problems or even death.

Failing to properly examine a child with fractures, either through misinterpreting the symptoms or not requesting an x-ray, can also lead to unnecessary and painful complications. Children with head injuries or abdominal pain can be mis-managed.

Failing to understand or correctly interpret the results of CTG equipment which indicate that a baby is in distress during delivery can result in oxygen starvation and an infant born with avoidable brain damage such as cerebral palsy. Failure to appropriately treat a new-born who may have suffered post-delivery injuries or needed resuscitation in the neo-natal period can also cause life-long damage.

If your child has suffered any of these injuries and we can prove, on the balance of probabilities, that negligent or sub-standard care was directly responsible for the harm they suffered, you may have a case for making a compensation claim.