In this video, John McCarthy answers the frequently asked question, “How much does it cost to bring a birth injury claim?”
Overview
Well, it’s not a very satisfactory answer, but ‘how long is a piece of string’ is where we start. Depending on what the circumstances of the injury are, you will usually require two reports from experts who are usually based in the UK, and they will be at consultant level; very busy clinicians who are going to be expensive. You’d want to allow for a number of thousand euros as a kind of a war chest initially. The most important thing is to not allow that to prevent you from seeking advice from a solicitor in the first place. A lot of solicitors will review the circumstances of the case and will be willing to investigate whether or not there is a claim worth pursuing on a contingency basis – a ‘no win, no fee’ basis. They will generally be in a position to first of all work out what type of expert you need and second of all, what that will cost you, without actually incurring any cost on your behalf up to that point. If it transpires that you can afford it and it looks as if there’s a case that really needs to be investigated, then you can proceed.
The other thing to bear in mind is that while there might be a lot of reports required, the initial reports on liability will, in a lot of cases, determine for you whether or not those subsequent case reports are justified. So while the funding of the case, which could run for several years, might be very expensive (and you can look at ways of funding that through various means) the initial report on liability, in many cases, will tell you whether or not it is worth investing further money in the investigations.
Unfortunately, I’m not giving you a clear answer, but what I’m saying to you is if you think that you suffered a birth injury, get onto a solicitor who works in the area and they can work out what the initial investigation costs will be and then you can make an informed decision about whether or not you can afford it.
Have you or your child suffered a birth injury?
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