February 3rd, 2009
A woman is taking legal action against the NHS trust she claims is responsible for the death of her baby.
Louise Davies, 28, was listed as a relatively high-risk patient when she fell pregnant for the second time, after suffering some problems with her first child, the Sunday Sun attests.
However, when she began to unexpectedly lose water and suffer from abdominal pains, she claims that staff at Darlington Memorial Hospital told her to go home and take a bath before returning two days later.
When she returned, Ms Davies alleges that staff were unprepared for her and did not perform a scan.
It was only when a doctor later looked for a heartbeat that none could be found and Ms Davies was told the baby had died.
She said she will now seek legal action against the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust – which provides secondary care district general hospital services to a population of around 500,000 in County Durham and Darlington – in order to ensure that the situation does not happen to anyone else.
"Nothing could bring Callum back, but it was an incredibly traumatic experience and one that I am still struggling to come to terms with," Ms Davies commented.
Tags: Abdominal Pains, Callum, County Durham, Darlington Memorial Hospital, District General Hospital, Foundation Trust, Heartbeat, High Risk, Ms Davies, Nhs Trust, Population, Risk Patient, Second Time, Sunday Sun, Traumatic Experience, Woman
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
February 2nd, 2009
A child who developed cerebral palsy after his birth was poorly managed has been awarded compensation to cover care for the rest of his life.
Oscar Riches, now seven, was born at the Eastbourne District General Hospital, but delays in his birth left his brain starved of oxygen, the Press Association reports.
As a result, he now has little mobility, severe learning difficulties and epilepsy. He is not expected to live beyond his 20s.
His mother sued the East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, which admitted that the locum doctor who delivered Oscar was responsible, admitted that a Caesarean should have been performed immediately and agreed to a compensation payout.
Oscar will now receive a lump sum payout of £1.11 million, as well as annual payments for as long as he lives.
According to Scope, one in 400 children in the UK suffers from cerebral palsy. Around ten per cent of cerebral palsy compensation claims are due to complications at birth.
Tags: Cerebral Palsy, Child Birth, Child Brain, Clinical Negligence, Compensation Claims, District General Hospital, Doctor Who, East Sussex Hospitals Nhs Trust, Eastbourne District General Hospital, Epilepsy, Hospitals Nhs Trust, Learning Difficulties, Left Brain, Locum Doctor, Lump Sum Payout, Oscar, Oxygen, Scope, Sussex
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
September 16th, 2008
An accident in which a hospital employee suffered an electric shock has resulted in a fine for the NHS trust responsible.
The unnamed worker was operating a steam cleaner within the building when he was shocked by the apparatus, resulting in him being unable to use his right hand, as well as headaches and deterioration in his vision.
It was ruled that East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust – which provides services from two main district hospitals; the Conquest Hospital in Hastings and the District General Hospital in Eastbourne – had failed to provide a residential current device (RCD), which would have cut the flow of electricity in such an incident.
The trust was ordered to pay £8,466 for breaches of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Health and Safety Executive inspector Liz Smith said the hospital failed to properly assess the risks arising from the operation of the machine.
"If the trust had provided an RCD, the victim would not have suffered such significant injuries, which have affected his life," she commented.
Ms Smith added that hospitals should pay particular attention to risk assessment for electrical equipment that is used in wet environments.
Tags: Conquest Hospital, District General Hospital, District Hospitals, East Sussex Hospitals Nhs Trust, Eastbourne, Electric Shock, Electrical Equipment, Electricity At Work Regulations, Electricity At Work Regulations 1989, Flow Of Electricity, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety Executive, Hospitals Nhs Trust, Life Quot, Liz Smith, Management Of Health And Safety At Work Regulations, Ms Smith, Rcd, Safety At Work, Wet Environments
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
