£21.5m for child seriously injured during forceps and ventouse delivery at Burnley General
Jenny Urwin settled a medical negligence claim for £21.5m for a child who was brain injured due to negligent treatment at birth at Burnley General Hospital, part of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.
During labour a prolonged deceleration was recorded by the CTG trace, and an attempt to apply a fetal scalp electrode to better monitor the baby was unsuccessful.
The position of the baby was noted to be occipito-transverse, and the head was high. Once the cervix was confirmed to be fully dilated, the mother was prepared for a ventouse delivery, but on the first attempt, the cup detached and flew off due to the amount of force applied.
Despite the baby being in a transverse position, an attempt was then made at forceps delivery, but the blades would not lock, indicating the baby's head was not presenting in an appropriate position for such a delivery. A further attempt was made at delivery by ventouse, again with such considerable force that the cup detached. A second forceps delivery was then attempted again unsuccessfully, when the doctor once more reverted to ventouse. This eventually resulted in delivery but left the baby's head extensively bruised.
After birth, the baby was admitted to ICU after developing seizures and CT brain scanning showed extensive intraventricular haemorrhaging.
The claimant developed mild left hemiparesis, with permanently compromised mobility and balance. She is independently mobile, but uses a wheelchair for longer distances outdoors, and is vulnerable to falling and fatigue. She has global neuro cognitive problems with difficulties with attention, working memory, processing speed, executive function, visual neuro-psychological functioning and verbal memory, all of which impacts her ability to live independently, maintain remunerative employment and impacts her capacity to manage her own financial affairs.
Since she will lack capacity as an adult, a financial deputy has been appointed.
Following a formal letter of claim, the defendant Trust made a full admission of liability, accepting that it was liable for the traumatic delivery and its consequences.
Before the claim could be properly quantified and concluded, we needed to wait until the child was old enough to properly assess her executive functioning. Meanwhile, judgment was entered and interim payments obtained to support ongoing rehabilitation and therapeutic input, as well as the purchase of alternative accommodation and equipment.
Negotiations in a round table meeting were not initially successful in achieving final resolution. However, the claimant's subsequent offer to settle was accepted by the defendant equating to a lump sum of £21.5m
Following settlement, the client said:
'Jenny Urwin's dedication to our child's case has been second to none. Her professionalism & communication throughout this journey at every stage has been incredible.
She has secured our child's future and for that we will be forever grateful, knowing our child will have the care, equipment and home that will be required now and in the future.'
Contact us
For further information about birth injury claims, please call Jenny Urwin on 03304606776 or email jenny.urwin@fieldfisher.com.
Alternatively
- You can speak to our medical negligence lawyers on freephone 0800 358 3848
- email us: personalinjury@fieldfisher.com
- Complete the short online enquiry form
All enquiries are completely free of charge and we will investigate all funding options for you including no win no fee. Find out more about no win no fee claims.