Drugs, newborns and the birth injury risk

In the event that a child has suffered birth injury through a difficult or negligent delivery, it becomes likely that he or she may need some form of medical intervention, often medication. And if the administration of the medication is performed incorrectly, securing medical negligence compensation, something our solicitors are skilled in achieving for their clients, may become imperative.

Giving a newborn drugs is rarely straightforward. In fact, in 2006 a House of Lords committee revealed that around 90% of all drugs given to newborns have not been tested on an appropriate age group.

Fortunately though, the majority of paediatric professionals are skilled in ensuring that the right dosage of drugs is administered. Professor Sir Alan Craft, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health comments that this gap in testing "should not alarm people, as the unlicensed medicines are prescribed by doctors with experience of working with children. But in the meantime, the new British National Formulary for Children provides guidance to all doctors in the UK on current best practice".

However, this does not mean that mistakes are not made. And, in the absence of full testing and definitive dosage guidelines, it is junior staff who are most at risk of making mistakes.

Professor Ian Wong, from School of Pharmacy and Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital comments, "If you have been working in a neonatal unit, you know how much to use. The problems come if a junior doctor miscalculates. If you are not competent about calculations, you are in big trouble. But if these drugs were given in proper formulations you wouldn't be able to overdose a baby."

The desire for a proper and thorough testing and licensing system for children is not exclusively felt by parents. Most doctors and paediatric specialists also believe it would be of benefit in both providing care and reducing the birth injury risk. Professor Sir Cyril Chantler, chair of the Great Ormond Street children's trust warns that "the lack of suitable and properly licensed medicine exposed children to significant mortality and morbidity".

Select panel of birth injury lawyers
All of the solicitors on our panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and observe its Code of Conduct as a matter of professional duty.

All work to secure their clients 100 percent compensation, without taking any cuts, and strive to ensure the kinds of costs that are unavoidable in a birth injury claim are kept to a minimum. In addition, we make sure all charges are reimbursed to you in a won case.

We have many years experience representing claimants in cases of obstetric and maternity care negligence, and in the process have established an enviable success rate as well as a sensitive client-first approach.

If you wish to discuss your case in confidence with a legal advisor, call us now on 0800 10 757 95.

Alternatively, we can be reached online through our echat window or our claim form.