Medical Law Experts Working To Secure 24-Hour Care Package After Hospital Admits To Errors During Childbirth

Lawyers at Irwin Mitchell are urging an NHS hospital to improve safety practices after a child was left with brain damage as a result of medical staff wrongly administering drugs during his birth.

Darryl Munashe Kupahurasa (known as Munashe), 5, from Rossington, Doncaster, suffers from cerebral palsy after staff at Doncaster Royal Infirmary incorrectly gave his mother a drip containing an artificial hormone used to induce and aid labour.

The drug, which was only present in the room on a precautionary basis caused the mother’s contractions to become too strong, which decreased the amount of oxygen to the baby, causing a catastrophic brain injury. As a result Munashe will never be able to walk or talk, and he will suffer from ongoing severe cognitive and learning difficulties.

Munashe’s parents, Portia, 32, and Devon, 36, are now working with Irwin Mitchell to secure the funds they need to provide a necessary package of 24-hour care and support for the rest of his life.

An internal investigation undertaken by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust found that while it was correct for the drip to have been present at the time of Mrs Kupahurasa’s labour in case it was needed, the administration of the drug Syntocinon was an error by hospital staff as it was not needed at that time. The Trust has now made a full admission of liability for Munashe’s condition.

Sarah Rowland, an Associate Solicitor in the medical law team at Irwin Mitchell, said: “This was an entirely avoidable incident, which has had a tragic impact on the life of an individual and his family.

“This should have been a simple case of administering the correct drugs at the correct time – something absolutely fundamental in medicine. Processes should be in place to prevent incidents like this occurring, and we hope that this case highlights the important lessons that need to be learned to prevent similar incidents happening again.

“Unfortunately we can’t change what has happened to Munashe but we are fighting to ensure that he and his family are able to have the best possible quality of life, which they clearly deserve.”

Munashe’s mother Portia said: “We are absolutely devastated by what happened, and incredibly angry and frustrated with the fact that it this could have been avoided.

“We just could not understand how something like this could happen. When you’re in a situation as vulnerable as that, you have to know that the staff around you know exactly what they are doing.

“Like any parents we hope for our son to have a happy, healthy and successful life, but due to mistakes at the hospital he will never even be able to live independently.

“We will struggle to trust any medical staff again, but we hope the systems are improved so that, in future, nobody suffers like Munashe has.”