First-time Birth Tear Medical Negligence and Compensation
If you suffered a severe birth tear during the delivery of your first child and have received only substandard medical care, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.
First-time Birth Trauma
It is unfortunate that being a first-time mother puts you at a higher than normal risk of suffering a severe 3rd or 4th degree birth tear. Most women suffer a tear of some degree during a vaginal delivery but only a few suffer the appalling experience of anal trauma.
Women giving birth through the vagina for the first time are known to be at risk of a severe tear when the perineum comes under the pressure of a baby's delivery. It is, therefore, essential that they receive the most meticulous maternity care before, during and after their baby's delivery to try to prevent long-term bowel incontinence.
The impact of a severe tear can be devastating to a woman's life and affect her ability to bond with her new-born as well as damaging her confidence and restricting what she is able to do.
What is a severe tear?
A severe birth tear is one that travels beyond the perineum and causes damage to the muscles which control bowel movement. This is called the anal sphincter. If this damage is diagnosed promptly after it occurs, it can be repaired effectively in an operating theatre by a surgeon. If a diagnosis is not made or if the injury is misdiagnosed as a smaller tear, a full repair will not take place. This is likely to leave the new mother with some form of bowel dysfunction from urgency to incontinence of both wind and faeces.
In extreme cases, where a tear has caused a hole to develop between the anus and the vagina, a woman can start to leak wind and faeces from her vagina instead from the anus.
Medical negligence
Women who have undergone a vaginal delivery of their baby should be examined after the birth and any damage should be accurately diagnosed and repaired.
If this does not happen, the relevant medical professionals may be regarded as having been negligent.
If the woman suffers on-going difficulties and financial losses, such as loss of income due to inability to work, she would be entitled to make a claim for compensation.
Legal advice
Claims for compensation for medical negligence are extremely complex and require the skills of a specialist solicitor to assess the validity and value of your claim.
Glynns Solicitors is a dedicated medical negligence legal practice with long-standing expertise in birth trauma claims. If you are struggling with the impact of an unrepaired birth tear, contact us today to talk to a specialist about the suitability of making a claim.
Please call us on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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