Maternal death claims – negligence causing a mother’s death in childbirth

Our medical negligence solicitors secure compensation settlements for the bereaved families of mothers who have died during pregnancy, childbirth or postnatally as a result of negligent maternity or medical care.

Compassionate support for families rebuilding after loss.

A mother’s death during pregnancy, childbirth or after the birth of her baby is devastating for the partner and family and has long-term consequences for the children. The bereaved partner is often left with feelings of grief, shock, anger and confusion, whilst facing the practical and financial challenges of losing the family’s child-care giver, home-maker or income earner.

Where the maternal death was the result of negligent medical or maternity care, the dependent family may be entitled to compensation. We understand that considering compensation to ease money concerns can seem difficult whilst coming to terms with the loss of a wife or partner and children’s mother. Our birth injury specialists are here to help and handle each family’s case with compassion and sensitivity. As time goes on, many families find that compensation helps by paying for assistance and support, replacing lost income, and restoring financial stability.

Nationally recognised medical negligence specialists with decades of experience
Access to leading medical experts and rehabilitation professionals
Proven track record of securing life-changing compensation for families

Dedicated support from initial enquiry through to settlement
No upfront costs and claim through a no win no fee agreement

Starting your maternal death negligence claim

For more than 30 years, Boyes Turner’s medical negligence solicitors have guided bereaved families through the claims process to secure the compensation and specialist support that they need to rebuild their lives after the death of a partner, parent, or family member.

You can contact us for free, confidential advice from a medical negligence solicitor about representation at an inquest, responding to contact from the hospital, NHS Resolution, or MNSI, or making a medical negligence claim for compensation.

We will ask you to tell us briefly about your loved one’s maternity or medical care, and advise you about your time limits 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) before court proceedings are issued.

If liability is admitted, we will obtain a judgment from the court and apply for an interim payment to meet any urgent needs arising from your loved one’s death. 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.

Maternal death claims FAQs

What is maternal death?

Maternal death means the death of a woman (or pregnant/birthing person) during or up to six weeks after their pregnancy ends, from causes related to or worsened by pregnancy or its management. The ‘end’ of the pregnancy may be the birth, stillbirth, termination, or miscarriage of the baby.

What are the leading causes of maternal death?

Medical conditions or complications which cause maternal death and commonly lead to medical negligence claims include:

VTE or venous thromboembolism – blood clots, thrombosis, embolism;
cardiac causes, such as heart failure or cardiac arrest;
brain or neurological causes – epilepsy, intracranial haemorrhage, stroke;
uterine rupture and/or obstetric haemorrhage (severe bleeding);
eclampsia (seizures/fits from high blood pressure or hypertension) or HELLP syndrome;
obstructed or traumatic labour;
complications of caesarean section;
infection and sepsis;
anaesthetic injury;
complications of other conditions (comorbidities), such as diabetes, asthma.

Maternal death is usually preventable with correct care during pregnancy, delivery (birth) and postnatally. This includes ongoing assessment of the mother’s risk factors, and early diagnosis and treatment of obstetric complications or existing medical conditions.

What medical negligence mistakes are causes of maternal death?

Claims for compensation after maternal death usually arise from one or more of the following negligent mistakes:

failing to assess the mother’s risk status correctly;
delayed, missed or incorrect diagnosis or treatment;
delayed or misinterpreted medical investigations, scans, and tests;
medication errors – syntocinon, anticoagulation blood thinners or clot busters;
triage and monitoring failures;
failing to follow guidelines;
failing to escalate concerns about the patient or refer for senior or specialist review;
obstetric errors involving shoulder dystocia, obstructed or vaginal breech delivery;
failure to warn or obtain informed consent for medical or surgical procedures;
ventilation, resuscitation and anaesthetic errors;
surgical and post-operative errors;
follow up and safety netting failures.

How much compensation can be claimed in a maternal death claim?

The amount of compensation that the family can claim after a mother dies as a result of negligent maternity care depends on the family’s circumstances, such as:

the mother’s age, health and expected lifespan before the events which caused her death;
the age of her children and their needs;
the age and health of her partner;
the family’s income and financial arrangements;
the family’s childcare arrangements;
the needs of anyone else who was dependent on the deceased’s income or services.

Compensation in maternal death claims can include sums claimed for:

the mother’s pain and suffering before her death;
the loss of the mother’s contribution to the family income;
the cost of replacing the mother’s role within the family, such as childcare or household tasks;
funeral expenses;
the statutory bereavement award.

If the baby also suffered serious harm as a result of negligent care during the pregnancy, or around the time of birth, the baby may be entitled to substantial compensation.

What other birth injuries can medical negligence lead to?

Medical negligence during pregnancy, labour, and in the weeks after birth can also cause other types of severe but preventable injuries, which may lead to obstetric injury claims or birth injury claims for compensation. Claims commonly relate to:

non-fatal injuries to the mother during childbirth;
HIE or hypoxic brain injury to the baby;
cerebral palsy;
neonatal brain injury;
anaesthetic injury;
brachial plexus injury or Erb’s palsy;
autism and ADHD birth injury;
PTSD and psychological injury.

Making a maternal death claim

We understand how daunting it can feel to take the first step. Our specialist medical negligence solicitors are here to guide you through every stage.

Getting in touch

Call us or complete our online enquiry form for free, confidential advice from a specialist maternal death negligence solicitor. We will listen to your concerns, explain your options, and advise whether we can investigate if negligent maternity care contributed to the death of a mother during or after childbirth.

Supporting your claim

Our solicitors will review medical records, instruct independent experts, and investigate whether risks were identified, monitored and managed appropriately throughout pregnancy, labour and after birth. Where negligence is identified, we can build a strong claim and advise on the compensation and support available to the family.

Securing compensation

We provide compassionate support throughout the claims process, helping families seek answers and working to secure the maximum compensation as quickly as possible to cover financial losses, ongoing support for children, bereavement-related needs and other essential support.

Contact us

If you would like advice regarding a serious injury or illness affecting you or a loved one, please complete the form and one of our experts will be in touch as soon as possible.

Rather give us a call:

0800 124 4845

Our birth injury claims

Our medical negligence team

What our clients say

Won medical negligence

I won my case with the help of Boyes Turner. Prior to doing my research and finding Boyes Turner I tried a different company that you see advertised on the telly for medical negligence, they said that the defendant did everything correctly and left it as that but I knew that wasn’t right, I continued to try other companies but they didn’t want to know. I then researched companies that can specialise in meningitis medical negligence and that’s when I found this company. From the get-go they were absolutely amazing and Julie was assigned to my case. Julie is an amazing woman, I could contact her as and when I needed/wanted and she was always on hand to help clarify or break down anything that I didn’t understand, she was always happy to answer my questions. If Julie wasn’t in the office her team was also on hand to help with anything I needed. Always guaranteed a fast response. My case was ongoing through the pandemic which made it difficult to go out to see a specialist but Julie and her team were working very hard to make meetings happen and organised alternative ways to make them happen. All the people I’ve come across throughout my case have been so lovely. They all want the best outcome for you and get the compensation you deserve. Thank you, Julie and team.

Boyes Turner Client

What our clients say

Worked assiduously and painstakingly

It has been a long haul for you and I thank you most gratefully for all the many hours of work you have put in. Since you took over the case you have worked assiduously and painstakingly through the process to bring it to this satisfactory conclusion. Thank you.

Mr MacMillan

What our clients say

You have given fantastic support and guidance

Boyes Turner have a great asset in Julie Marsh, she has handled my case with such professionalism and has kept me informed at every stage over the 6 years. She has given me guidance, support and that personal touch where I could ring or email at any time and she would always answer and give me answers to any questions I had. Would recommend without hesitation. Thank you

Boyes Turner Client

What our clients say

Very helpful and diligent

Having never taken legal action before, I found Boyes Turner very helpful and diligent during my injury claim. When I moved to the USA during the case, they were still able to answer all of my concerns and keep me informed, giving me advice every step of the way. I would recommend Boyes Turner to anyone who is considering representation.

Boyes Turner client

What our clients say

Very kind and considerate

Thank you again for all your help with our case, you were very kind and considerate as well as being a professional.

Boyes Turner client

What our clients say

Very Professional

Boyes Turner helped me through one of the toughest times in my life. They were very professional whilst remaining friendly. At times the process was emotionally tough but they were very patient with me and went through everything with me until I understood it. I cannot recommend them enough.

Boyes Turner Client

What our clients say

We cannot praise and thank the team enough

Tara Byrne, Rachel Makore, and the team were nothing but efficient, thorough, empathetic, methodical and clever in their approach to our claim, with a strong eye for seeing both sides of the equation to better equip for our case. When several other solicitors refused to take us on, they did so securing an £800,000 compensation claim which will make us financially secure for our future in light of my injuries sustained, and the financial impact caused both past and present as a direct consequence. This will enable us to continue living as we have been prior to the indexed event without the financial pressures the negligence has led on to. We cannot praise and thank the team enough. We are forever in their debt. Professional from start to finish. Thank you again!

Boyes Turner Client

What our clients say

We cannot thank Susan and her team at Boyes Turner enough

Words cannot express how grateful we are to Susan and her team for the level of commitment and dedication shown to our family during a time which would be difficult for anyone. Susan demonstrates a calm professional manner which helped us to feel at ease. Her level of knowledge has proven to be the best in the field and we fully recommend her to anyone seeking to investigate birth injury claims. You can be confident that Susan and her team will scrutinise the medical notes thoroughly and will keep you well informed throughout the process. We are very pleased with the outcome of our child’s case and know that her work has resulted in justice being achieved. Our family will now be able to move forward in the knowledge that the finances are securely in place for our child to receive a suitable care package, purchase equipment and receive necessary lifelong therapy. We cannot thank Susan and her team at Boyes Turner enough.

Boyes Turner Client

What our clients say

We had full confidence

Mine was a specialist case – you had the expert who listened, advised and brought in others as required in a highly professional manner. We had full confidence in you.

Mr L

What our clients say

We would all highly recommend them

The support we received from Boyes Turner and our specific solicitors was exceptional. As a family, we would all highly recommend them to anyone. They were consistently knowledgeable, kind and professional throughout, always putting our son at the centre of our fight for justice.

Boyes Turner Client

Why choose Boyes Turner?

Watch the video1min 25secs

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.

We are nationally acclaimed for our claimant medical negligence expertise and the outstanding results we achieve for our clients.
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).

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.

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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.

Maternal death claims – negligence causing a mother’s death in childbirth

Compassionate support for families rebuilding after loss.

Starting your maternal death negligence claim

Susan Brown

Maternal death claims FAQs

Making a maternal death claim

Getting in touch

Supporting your claim

Securing compensation

Contact us

0800 124 4845

Our birth injury claims

Our medical negligence team

Susan Brown

Julie Marsh

Sita Soni

Tara Pileggi-Byrne

Vanessa Wand

Ben Ireland

Laura Hayes-Payne

Hannah Lindley

Megan Levey

Audrey Elmore

Alice Carley

Nicky Melville

What our clients say

Won medical negligence

What our clients say

Worked assiduously and painstakingly

What our clients say

You have given fantastic support and guidance

What our clients say

Very helpful and diligent

What our clients say

Very kind and considerate

What our clients say

Very Professional

What our clients say

We cannot praise and thank the team enough

What our clients say

We cannot thank Susan and her team at Boyes Turner enough

What our clients say

We had full confidence

What our clients say

We would all highly recommend them

Why choose Boyes Turner?

Related birth injury insights

Related maternal death claims

Birth trauma claims

Fatal negligence

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Leading medical negligence solicitors for over 30 years

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