Child Birth Injury Claim Settles For Significant Seven Figure Sum

After an 11-year battle with Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust (now University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust), Alex Brown has achieved settlement for an 11 year old child who suffered a traumatic brain injury resulting in Grade 1-2 level Cerebral Palsy during birth, for several million pounds.

Background to the Child Birth Injury Claim

During the late stages of pregnancy, it had become clear that there was some stalling on the Claimant’s growth scans which should have prompted concerns and referral from midwives for consultant review which did not happen. A such, the Claimant was very small at the point in time the mother went into labour.

During the labour, the mother was put on to syntocinon and it became clear that the foetus was in distress on the CTG traces. Despite this syntocinon was continued when it should have been discontinued.

Due to the foetal distress, the mother was subsequently rushed in for an emergency c-section.

During the C-Section, the registrar performing the procedure placed significant pressure on the Claimant’s head while noting the Claimant was in a difficult position to deliver. It was agreed by the Defendant that the Claimant’s brain injury was caused by the mechanical trauma during difficult delivery, however the Trust denied that there was a breach of duty and the mechanical impact to the head could not be avoided.

Liability in this matter was never formally admitted by the Trust.

Outcome

Alex Brown, with the expert assistance of Lizanne Gumble KC and Shahram Sharghy of 1 Crown Office Row Chambers, managed to piece together the mechanism of the claim and managed to bring the Trust to a settlement meeting in September 2023 and achieve a multi-million-pound settlement to secure the Claimant’s future.

The Claimant is doing amazingly well despite his left sided impairment and is in mainstream school in Germany where his family now reside. The settlement has provided the Claimant’s parents with a huge amount of comfort knowing that the Claimant will be financially secure in the future and will have the ability to live independently in adult life.

Do you need to claim for a child birth injury?

Dean Wilson represented the Claimant and the family on a no-win, no-fee agreement. If you have a potential medical negligence matter or you have had problems during a pregnancy or a birth and would like to discuss possible legal action, please contact our expert medical negligence team on 01273 249200, or visit our medical negligence page here.