If you or your baby were seriously harmed during pregnancy, labour or delivery, you may have a medical negligence claim. Louise Harkin leads our birth injury work, and Kearney Law is the Foundation for Infant Loss's exclusive legal panel member for the whole of Ireland.
A birth injury claim is a medical negligence claim for serious harm to a baby or mother caused by care during pregnancy, labour or delivery that fell below an acceptable standard.
The claim has to show two things: that the care was negligent, and that the negligence caused the injury.
In Ireland, the test for negligence comes from Dunne v National Maternity Hospital, a 1989 Supreme Court case about the delivery of twins.
A doctor or midwife is negligent if they made a mistake that no practitioner of equal skill and status would have made when acting with ordinary care. Independent medical experts report on whether that test is met.
The State Claims Agency, which manages claims against HSE hospitals, reviewed 80 claims for catastrophic injuries to babies concluded between 2015 and 2019. Most involved care before or during birth. The problems that came up again and again were:
Where you see the same problems in your own records, it's worth asking a solicitor to look at them.
We concentrate on serious, long-term injuries to babies and mothers:
We also handle gynaecology negligence claims and paediatric negligence claims for babies and children harmed after birth.
For a child with a lifelong injury, most of a claim is about the future:
In the most serious cases, the High Court can order that money for future care is paid in yearly instalments instead of one lump sum, under the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 2017. Any settlement of a child's claim has to be approved by the court.
Contact us through our enquiry form, phone, or email. We’ll review your situation, answer your questions, and explain what to expect next. There’s no upfront fee to begin your claim.
Your case will be carefully reviewed by our legal team.
We assess the strength of your claim, advise on the documentation needed, and guide you through key steps such as attending an independent medical examination and preparing the information required for the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB).
Once you decide to move forward, we take care of everything. This includes gathering evidence, contacting the other party or their insurer, submitting your claim to the IRB, managing settlement discussions, and handling any court proceedings if needed.
Louise Harkin, a solicitor admitted in Ireland, leads our work on birth injury, obstetric, gynaecology and paediatric claims. Read Louise's profile.
Every medical negligence claim needs independent expert evidence. We instruct experienced experts in obstetrics, midwifery and neonatology to report on the care given and on the injury it caused.
Kearney Law is the Foundation for Infant Loss's exclusive legal panel member for the whole of Ireland. Our team takes part in the Foundation's training on maternity safety and on supporting bereaved families. Find us in the Foundation's directory.
There are no upfront fees. Before you go ahead, we set out in writing how legal costs work, as section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires. No Win No Fee explained.
For a mother's own injuries, the time limit is two years from the "date of knowledge": when you knew, or should have known, that you had a significant injury that may have been caused by the care you received.
That comes from the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991. For a child, the two years don't start until their 18th birthday, so their claim must be issued before they turn 20.
It's still best to get advice early, while records and witnesses are easy to trace.
Most babies in Ireland are born in public maternity units. Claims about care in HSE and voluntary hospitals are managed by the State Claims Agency under the Clinical Indemnity Scheme.
If you had private care, the claim is usually against the consultant or private hospital, and their insurer deals with it.
No. The Injuries Resolution Board (formerly PIAB) doesn't assess medical negligence claims. They go through the courts, usually the High Court for serious injuries, although most settle before a full trial.
Since 26 September 2024, the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 has required hospitals to hold an open disclosure meeting with the family after certain serious incidents.
These include some stillbirths and deaths around the time of birth, and babies who need cooling treatment (therapeutic hypothermia) for a suspected brain injury. What you're told at the meeting can help you understand what happened.
You're entitled to copies of your own records and your baby's under data protection law, and the hospital should normally provide them within a month at no cost.
With your permission, we request the full maternity file for you, including the CTG traces, which are often the most important records in a birth injury claim.
Often several years. When a baby has a brain injury, experts usually need to wait until the child is older before they can say what care and support they'll need for life, and the claim is valued on that evidence.
Most medical negligence claims settle without a full trial. Settlements for children still go before a judge for approval, which is usually a short hearing. If a fair settlement isn't offered, the claim goes to trial.
In some cases, yes. The rules depend on what happened, including whether the baby was stillborn or died after birth, and the mother may also have a claim for her own injuries.
We'll explain the options plainly and without pressure. The Foundation for Infant Loss also supports bereaved families.
No. There are no upfront fees. Before you go ahead, we give you clear written terms explaining how legal costs work, as section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires. Read No Win No Fee explained for more.
Call us on +353 1 485 3560 or send us an enquiry. Louise or a member of the team will listen to what happened, tell you whether it's worth investigating, and explain what the next steps involve.
We act for families across Ireland from our Dublin office and our offices in Cork, Galway and Donegal, and we can also meet online.
Regulated by the Law Society of Ireland
Kearney Law handles only personal injury and clinical negligence claims.
We act for clients across Ireland, including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Letterkenny. See all the areas we cover.
Contact us to talk to a solicitor about your claim, or request a case review.
Email: [email protected]
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Friday 9am – 5pm
