Our medical negligence team successfully secured a compensation settlement of over £10 million for our client, Alina*. This was after medical negligence during her birth caused her to sustain a brain injury, resulting in cerebral palsy.
What happened to Alina?
Alina is the eldest child of her parents, and experienced medical negligence during her birth and delivery. This negligence was due to the medical professionals in charge failing to progress her birth after decelerations in her heartrate.
The labour theatre was on a different floor to the midwifery suite, so to move Alina’s mother to theatre, she needed to be taken up in a lift. This was a slow process, and the midwifery staff didn’t factor this in when considering the signs of fetal distress.
Alina experienced a period of damaging acute profound hypoxia (a sudden and severe lack of oxygen, particularly to the brain). As a result, she was diagnosed with dystonic cerebral palsy. This condition affects all of Alina’s limbs, with severe physical and cognitive disabilities that’ll affect her for the rest of her life.
How did Irwin Mitchell’s cerebral palsy claims solicitors help?
We brought a claim against the hospital for failing to act quickly enough after noticing concerning signs during the pregnancy. There were clear signs of fetal distress.
We instructed various independent experts to compile reports. These included:
- An accommodation expert
- A care expert
- A consultant paediatric neurologist
- A consultant orthopaedic surgeon
- An educational psychologist.
Their impartial reports helped to prove medical negligence had taken place, resulting in a birth injury. It also helped us to justify the compensation sum we were claiming for, by considering Alina’s present and long-term needs.
A £10.2 million settlement
Liability was admitted and we were able to settle Alina’s claim for £10.2 million. This money will help to fund care, therapies, and suitable living accommodation for the rest of her life.
Tom Gough, a partner who handled Alina’s case, commented: “Alina’s cerebral palsy could have been avoided had more urgency been placed on addressing the danger signs during her birth.
“Although nothing can be done to cure her cerebral palsy, it is very rewarding to know that in helping secure over £10m in compensation, we’ve helped her to live her life as independently as possible.
“We’ve already seen the benefits to her of the successful outcome. She is now in an outstanding specialist school. Assistive technology and specialist communication input has meant she is now able to communicate with her parents in a way she has been unable to do throughout her life, expressing feelings and wishes in a way not possible before.”
*Client’s name has been changed
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