Medical negligence compensation for infertility

When infertility prevents an individual’s or a couple’s ability to have children, the effects can be life-changing. To have the chance to start a family taken away from you is highly distressing under any circumstances, but it can be even more troubling when infertility has been provoked by medical negligence and could have been avoidable. Anyone who has been affected by this traumatic form of clinical negligence may be able to claim compensation for infertility problems.

Infertility can arise under many different circumstances, as the medical negligence may have arisen in the treatment of a condition that was completely unrelated to fertility. Our expertise in the area of clinical negligence allows us to closely examine all the complicated medical details to ensure you receive the best possible resolution to your legal case.

We are here to help you as best as we can.

How might medical negligence cause infertility?

In most medical negligence cases, we are primarily looking at the following forms of negligence:

1. Diagnosis errors- failure to diagnose, incorrect diagnosis, or delays to diagnosis;
2. Treatment errors- failure to treat, incorrect treatment administered, or delays to treatment.

In infertility cases, errors may have arisen in reproductive care. Gynaecologists and urologists deal with conditions relating to the female and male reproductive systems, so it may be that a failure in their care caused your infertility problems. For example, incorrect treatment could arise in a situation where a woman has an unnecessary hysterectomy, causing her to be unable to have children. A failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy could lead to a rupture of the fallopian tube, making the patient unable to have children in future.

Cancer-related negligence may also be capable of leading to a claim. For instance, if there is a delay in diagnosing cancer, this could cause fertility problems to develop unchecked. It may also lead to patients requiring chemotherapy treatments they would not have required otherwise, potentially causing infertility in both male and female patients.

Claiming compensation for infertility

If you are thinking about claiming compensation for infertility, we know that you may be worried about reliving the trauma of the incident that caused it. We aim to take all these anxieties off your hands by carefully reviewing your treatment ourselves, and engaging a medical expert to help us do this.

We also use the Judicial College Guidelines to assess the potential value of your claim.

For male sterility, the potential compensation amounts range from £14,960 to £118,240, depending on the severity of the case. For example, young men without children are likely to be awarded more than older men who have no intention to have children in future. Loss of sexual function can also be taken into account.

Compensation for infertility in women can reach up to £135,030 in cases where there is severe depression and anxiety. For infertility in women who have already had children, the compensation amount could be between £14,320 and £29,290 depending on the level of psychological damage.

These are just a few examples of compensation amounts, and the guidelines go into much greater detail. You may also be awarded Special Damages if there are losses or expenses to recover, such as the fees of private psychotherapy, or the amount of lost earnings if you took time off work.

Making your claim

We know that no amount of compensation can make up for your inability to have children, but claiming compensation for infertility can help to account for the injustices which allowed it to occur.

Contact us today for free, no-obligation advice on your potential medical negligence claim.