8th July 2021 ❘

Michelle Armstrong – Birth Injury specialist

Medical Negligence Partner and Specialist Birth Injury Solicitor Michelle Armstrong

Michelle Armstrong – Birth Injury specialist…

Michelle Armstrong, our Medical Negligence solicitor, is really very special to us as she actually used to be a midwife before she joined us. Michelle studied law at Durham University and previously worked in intellectual property law, but in the early 2000s, inspired after having her first two children, she made the decision to retrain as a midwife. She worked as a rotational midwife at Newcastle RVI for seven years and loved it, particularly her time helping mothers in labour and delivery.

Inspired by her time on the maternity ward, Michelle returned to law in 2012, bringing her compassion, empathy and understanding to a new role as a birth trauma specialist here at Burnetts. With hands-on experience as part of both a hospital team and a legal team, Michelle is unique. She has a good understanding of the experiences of the clients she looks after and so can expertly and gently guide them through legal processes at what can be a very difficult time for them.

Michelle’s midwifery background enables her to understand CTG traces, translate medical jargon for her clients and read between the lines of medical records to establish what has happened in a case. One of her areas of expertise is securing Legal Aid – a form of financial aid that helps to cover the cost of medical negligence claims for those that have suffered brain injuries around the time of their birth. Legal Aid can be a difficult process, but because of her hospital experience, Michelle is able to formulate strong medical arguments to secure much-needed financial help for her clients.

Michelle also has experience of helping the bereaved parents of still-born babies, both as a midwife and a lawyer. She works hard to make a confusing world of legal jargon and medical terminology less intimidating and more manageable.

Of her work, Michelle says “As a mother, I know how important the process of birth is to women and as a midwife I know what can happen during birth and how to support women when things don’t go according to plan. I love that in my role at Burnetts, I can combine all of this experience with my legal expertise, to get the best possible result for my clients, whilst also having the skills to support them emotionally.”

Michelle is on hand to help families that are exploring the possibility of making a compensation claim following medical negligence. She can be reached by emailing hello@burnetts.co.uk or phoning 0191 300 1833.