Hard-pressed midwives are not infallible and, if their negligence results in your child being born disabled, you owe it to your family to consult an expert solicitor straight away. In one case, a nine-year-old girl whose hospital delivery was mismanaged received a compensation package worth an eight-figure sum.

During legal proceedings it was alleged that the midwifery care the girl's mother received in the two or three hours before her birth was seriously substandard. She was delivered with serious injuries and only just survived. She was stricken by cerebral palsy and her severe disabilities meant that she would always need professional care.

For a long time, the NHS trust that ran the hospital denied that its midwives were at fault. Following negotiations with the girl's legal team, however, it agreed to settle her claim on a full liability basis. Together with a £4.8 million lump sum, it consented to pay annual, index-linked, six-figure sums to cover the costs of the girl's care for life. The capitalised value of the settlement is in the region of £20 million.