Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust ‘Missed Opportunities To Prevent Problems’

The parents of a seven-year-old girl left with a serious brain injury following complications during her birth have spoken of their relief after lawyers helped them secure a settlement which will ensure she gets the support she will need for the rest of her life.

The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has severe quadriplegic cerebral palsy and epilepsy and requires around-the-clock care as a result of problems which occurred during her birth at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in 2010.

Her mother went into labour six days past the due date and while midwives noted that she had a ‘heavy show’ upon admission, it is believed this was in fact maternal bleeding which should have been more thoroughly reviewed.

A drop in the baby’s heart rate was then seen after a transfer from the labour ward to the birthing unit but staff did not use the emergency buzzer to get the immediate attention of the registrar. The child was eventually delivered by caesarean section in poor condition around 30 minutes after the fall in the heart rate was first recorded.

Following the problems, her parents instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell’s London office to help them gain justice regarding the issues seen during the labour, with legal experts helping them secure a settlement from Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust regarding the failings. Liability was resolved out of court in March 2016.

The girl is to receive a lump sum which will fund the specialist therapies and equipment she requires for the rest of her life. In addition to a lump sum, there will be annual payments made for life to cover the cost of care.

The girl will be totally dependent on others for life.

Expert Opinion

This is a truly devastating case in which a young girl has suffered a very serious birth injury that will have an impact on her for the rest of her life.

“While nothing will ever change what has happened to this family, we hope that this settlement will at least provide some relief and mean they are safe in the knowledge that their daughter’s needs will be met in the years ahead.

“This case should also act as an important reminder that the safety of patients must always be the top priority for the NHS. The problems which arose in this case should never be allowed to happen again.” Auriana Griffiths - Partner

It was argued that the birth injury would have been prevented if the child had been born earlier. With a timely response to the mother’s bleeding the baby could have been born 13 minutes earlier than she was.

In addition, it was argued that if the emergency buzzer had been pressed immediately after the fetal heart rate fell she could have been delivered at least ten minutes earlier.

The girl’s parents said: All we ever wanted was a normal ordinary life with our daughter, watching her go to university, get married and visiting us when we are older.

“Instead life is now a continued battle to do the best we can for our daughter with the constant worry for her life and how long she will live. It is daily turmoil.

“We hope this case will have a constructive impact and that what happened to our daughter will make a positive difference; everyone assumes that they will be fine in child birth, that these things only happen to other people. The truth is that it can happen to you and that serious or catastrophic birth injuries are happening far too frequent in our hospitals.

“No pregnancy is without risk, medical staff need to be aware of the risks from the outset and treat every birth with the utmost care as things can change within seconds. Every second counts. It's between a future with independence and a future with none, where families and children are left to deal with their pain and suffering.

“NHS spend should be on taking proper care of the birth rather paying for nursing and support for the rest of that poor child's life.

“Giving birth should be a celebration not a crushing tragedy. We need to value our children and that starts at birth. We never had a meaningful apology from the NHS trust for what happened that day and it has taken more than seven years for the case to be settled. We will never be the same.”

Expert Opinion

At the approval hearing the Judge, Mr Justice Kerr, said he was very moved by the witness evidence of the mother and described her conduct as heroic. He paid tribute to the mother and the other professionals in the case.

“On behalf of the Trust at the hearing, its representative said that the Trust was very pleased that this long running and difficult case has been finalised for all aspects of the claim which all gave rise to their own particular problems.

“It is clear that the last seven years since the birth of this little girl have been enormously stressful and problematic for the whole family and it is therefore all the more pleasing that it has been possible to resolve what were some genuinely tricky issues without the need for a contested trial which would itself have been a further cause of stress and uncertainty for the Claimant’s parents that they could do without.

“This young girl has had the most enormous adversity to face in her short life and she has borne her problems with incredible guts and determination and tackled them as well as she possibly can. She has committed and caring parents and they have provided her with very considerable love and support in a way that can only attract admiration and respect.

“She is plainly much treasured and every effort has been made by her parents to maximise her opportunities to succeed as best that she can despite her obvious limitations.” Auriana Griffiths - Partner

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