Cerebral Palsy resulting from birth injury

The circumstances in which Miss A came to sustain her brain damage are as follows.  Her mother, was admitted to Hospital with spontaneous rupture of membranes in labour, this being her first pregnancy, at the age of 18.  At around 03:45, a fetal bradycardia developed and Miss A was born in poor condition at 04:08.  She was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit where she developed seizures and neonatal encephalopathy. She has since gone on to develop cerebral palsy.

Quite apart from there being a very strong case that, with adequate care in response to the bradycardia, Miss A should have been born intact, there were also allegations that earlier fetal blood samples would have led to earlier delivery, and that the bradycardia was precipitated by the use of Syntocinon to induce labour and augment uterine contractions in circumstances where it should not have been administered.

To ensure that Miss A’s needs were properly identified and met and the claim settled at an appropriate level to meet her needs, we sought further expert advice to help assess those needs from a Consultant Paediatric Neurologist, Care and Occupational Therapist, Accommodation expert, Assisted technology, and Educational Psychologist.

The claim was finally settled on the basis of a seven figure lump sum payment and annual periodical payments, to continue until end of life, increasing with age.

The total value of the settlement represented an overall settlement equivalent to a lump sum of nearly eight million pounds.

Maya Sushila had conduct of Miss A’s case and was assisted by other members of the Clinical Negligence solicitors team. Maya is a solicitor based in our Southampton office and in relation to the case she said: “this case was an extremely complex case with a refusal on the part of the Defendant Trust to accept that the delay in delivery and negligence had resulted in an adverse outcome.  It was only after the experts on both sides had met and produced a joint statement analysing the evidence and their respective positions that The Defendant Trust agreed at a “round table” meeting to a settlement. The settlement achieved, was a great result and inevitably means that Miss A’s future is now secure and she is guaranteed all necessary care and support for the duration of her life.”


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