Hospital Admitted Liability After Family Instructed Expert Lawyers At Irwin Mitchell

A disabled girl has received a multi-million pound settlement after a hospital trust delayed performing an emergency caesarean despite scans showing her erratic heart rate.

The delay by staff at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust meant that the girl’s brain was starved of oxygen before she was born, resulting in her suffering a number of disabilities.

Her problems include cerebral palsy, hearing and sight problems and epilepsy – with the girl suffering up to 100 fits a day.

Following the girl’s birth her family instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the level of care her mum received at the hands of the NHS Trust.

Now at an approval hearing in the High Court, the NHS Trust agreed to a settlement package that included a lump sum of £7.75 million as well as annual periodical payments of £220,000 a year until the girl reaches the age of 19 and then £250,000 a year for the rest of her life.

The settlement will help the family access specialist 24 hour care, therapies and aids she will require for the rest of her life. The money will also fund her housing costs and compensate for loss of earnings in her lifetime.

The girl cannot be named for legal reasons.

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust admitted liability.

Expert Opinion

"Our client’s family raised a number of very serious concerns over the level of care her mum received after she was admitted to hospital.

“The mother and in turn her daughter were badly let down by the hospital trust and opportunities were missed to prevent our client’s injuries. The last thing that the family want, however, is for there to be a loss of confidence in the health services.

“The family just hope that lessons are learned to ensure that no one else has to go through the same pain as they have.” Auriana Griffiths - Partner

The woman was due to give birth to her first child in early 2011. A final observation took place the day after her due date when no issues were found.

The mum visited hospital three days later complaining that she had not felt her baby move since the previous evening. The baby’s heart rate was monitored and the woman allowed home.

Four days after this the woman was admitted to hospital after her contractions started. She again expressed concern that she had not felt her baby move. Over a 20 minute period scans showed that the baby’s heart rate had slowed but had recovered before decelerating again.

About 10 minutes later a doctor ruled that the risk of injury to the baby was low and that the mum should be taken back to a ward for observation while labour was induced. However, a further 10 minutes later a midwife raised concerns about the scan results.

Over the next hour scans showed no contractions and that the baby’s heart rate remained pretty constant at between 142 and 150 beats per minute. However, the baby’s heart rate then slowed to 80 and then 60 beats per minute.

An emergency caesarean was performed and the baby had to be resuscitated.

The hospital trust was negligent because it failed to carry out a full assessment of the risks that the child faced. If a full assessment was conducted, at the very latest, the child should have been delivered an hour before she was and it was during this hour that the damage to her brain occurred.

The girl’s father said: “Our daughter is an amazing and affectionate girl who, despite the daily battles she faces, is always happy and smiling. 

“The last few years have been extremely difficult for us all as a family, but we always try to remain positive and try to lead as normal a life as possible, doing the things any family would enjoy.

“However, we are very disappointed with the level of care that our daughter received.

“Our daughter’s brain injury and subsequent disability would have been avoided if staff had carried out a full assessment and identified the need to take swift action. The delay of around an hour before our baby was delivered was unacceptable.

“While nothing can make up for the failures that led to our daughter’s condition, we are relieved that she is now guaranteed to receive the lifetime of care she so desperately needs.

“We just hope that no other family has to go through the suffering we have been through and that lessons have been truly learnt.”

If you or a loved one have been victim of poor care within a hospital and need help claiming compensation for a birth injury, get in touch with our team today.