Claim type · Birth Injuries

Stillbirth & Neonatal Death claims.

Claims arising from preventable stillbirths and newborn deaths caused by failures in monitoring and delivery management.

Tell us what happened and we'll show you published judgments like yours, outline what you could be entitled to, and, if you choose, put you in touch with specialist solicitors Tomlin & Partners.

Typical range

£50,000 – £250,000

Limitation period

3 years

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Stillbirth & Neonatal Death
Typical range
£50K – £250K
Time limit
3 years

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§ PUBLISHED JUDGMENTS

Real stillbirth & neonatal death cases, decided by the courts.

Every case below is a published judgment of the courts of England and Wales, linked to its source. Summaries are ours; amounts appear only where the judgment states them. We include claims that failed, because they show what has to be proved.

Claim failed

PXE (by his mother and litigation friend DSD) v University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

[2024] EWHC 2023 (KB)·2024·Liability decided at trial

The mother's recorded history of kidney scarring was said to require consultant-led care and serial growth scans, which were not arranged; the baby was born prematurely at Solihull Hospital with brain damage. The judge held that classifying the pregnancy as low risk was within acceptable practice in 2008, so there was no breach of duty.

Antenatal risk-assessment claims turn on whether the mother's history genuinely required extra monitoring under the guidance of the time. Hindsight that scans might have helped is not the legal test.

Claim failed

Callaghan v South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

[2023] EWHC 1199 (KB)·2023·Liability decided at trial

A baby born at James Cook University Hospital was discharged two days after birth and died of GBS meningitis and sepsis. The judge found only one limited breach (a missing piece of discharge advice) and that it did not cause the death because the mother would not have returned to hospital in time.

Even where a hospital gets something wrong, the claim fails unless the mistake is shown to have changed what happened. Record-keeping failings alone did not establish causation here.

Claimant succeeded£271,901

Justyna Zeromska-Smith v United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

[2019] EWHC 980 (QB)·2019·Damages assessed at trial

The baby died in the womb before induction and the mother had to labour for 18 hours to deliver her stillborn daughter; the Trust admitted negligence. Martin Spencer J found she had a genuine, continuing psychiatric illness and awarded £271,901 in total.

After a negligent stillbirth the main claim is usually the mother's psychiatric injury and its financial consequences, such as lost earnings and treatment. Awards can be substantial but the court scrutinises the recovery prognosis closely, and the parties' valuations here were very far apart.

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Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0. Judgments from Find Case Law, The National Archives. Summaries are ours; amounts only where printed in the judgment.

About Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Claims

Stillbirth and neonatal death claims arise when medical negligence during pregnancy, labour, or delivery contributes to the death of a baby. These are among the most devastating cases in clinical negligence and require sensitive, specialist handling.

Common causes include failure to monitor fetal growth (missing intrauterine growth restriction), failure to act on reduced fetal movements, missed signs of placental abruption, failure to induce labour when indicated, delayed emergency caesarean section in the presence of fetal distress, and neonatal infections that were not identified or treated promptly.

The MBRRACE-UK (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries) reports provide national data on perinatal deaths and identify avoidable factors. Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) investigations into stillbirths can provide critical evidence.

Compensation in stillbirth and neonatal death claims includes a statutory bereavement award (currently £15,120), funeral costs, the mother's pain and suffering related to the death, psychiatric injury to parents (PTSD, depression), and any physical injuries to the mother from negligent delivery. Total claims typically range from £50,000 to £250,000. The limitation period is 3 years from the date of death or date of knowledge.

Typical Compensation Range

£50Kto£250K

Based on reported settlements and court awards. Individual case values vary significantly.

Limitation Period

3 years

May vary by jurisdiction. Don't wait — time limits apply.

NHS Negligence Data

See real NHS Resolution data related to stillbirth & neonatal death claims.

Neonatology Statistics

National data on neonatal negligence claims

NHS Maternity Claims

All maternity trusts ranked by obstetric payments

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