Two bereaved parents are set to launch a medical negligence claim against Pennine Acute NHS Trust after their baby died during labour at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

An inquest into the death at Oldham Magistrates’ Court revealed several errors made by the midwife and the doctor involved in the delivery of Tracy and John Last’s child Olivia.

Both of the medical professionals failed to spot problems with the baby’s heart rate during labour and the child was born lifeless.

Following the inquest verdict, Mr and Mrs Last, from Chadderton, near Oldham, have decided to launch medical negligence action.

Mr Last said: "Nothing can compensate us for the loss of Olivia who we longed for.

"Tracy and I do though feel that we owe it to the daughter we lost and to other couples, to take action which we hope will lead to lessons being learnt."

Last month, a US jury awarded $1.25 million (£750,000) to a family whose baby died following a doctor’s misdiagnosis.

Dr Kevin Krause was found to be negligent in his treatment of 21-month-old Andrew Morrow, who died of appendicitis after being diagnosed first with flu and then with gastroenteritis, reports AP.

A 14-year-old girl has been awarded millions in compensation after winning a medical negligence claim against the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

Tahlia Downes was deprived of oxygen during her birth, leaving her with severe mental and physical disabilities.

Her mother brought the medical negligence claim against the hospital on the grounds that she should have been given a Caesarean section during the birth, reports the BBC.

Norfolk and Norwich Hospital will pay the family compensation after the judge in the case ruled that it should pay 70 per cent of the full valuation of the claim.

The payout is expected to run into millions once a final figure is reached, money that will be used to provide care for Tahlia for the rest of her life.

Last month, ten-year-old Harry Snowdon of Oxfordshire was awarded £7.1 million in compensation in a similar medical negligence case against Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, in which he was left with brain damage following difficulties with his birth.

A recycling worker from Wiltshire is in line for a seven-figure compensation payment after a botched neck operation left him severely disabled.

Michael Hart underwent surgery to remove a compressed disc at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford in September 2008, in what should have been a routine procedure.

However, an error by surgeons led to complications which caused irreversible damage to Mr Hart’s spinal cord.

As a result, he is now confined to a wheelchair, with only limited movement in his hands.

Following his release from hospital in April this year, he began a medical negligence claim against Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust, which has now admitted full liability for the mistake made by its staff.

A compensation figure is still to be agreed, but it is almost certain to be more than £1 million, as it will take into account loss of earnings and the cost of long-term care for Mr Hart.

The news comes after the NHS Litigation Authority’s annual report revealed the health service spent £807 million to settle compensation claims in the 2008-09 financial year.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has paid £150,000 compensation to the family of a man who died after staff failed to diagnose a serious heart condition.

David Whittaker, 61, died after suffering a torn artery, a condition known as aortic dissection.

However, staff at Queen’s Medical Centre failed to spot this when he went to the hospital after complaining of chest pains.

Staff carried out some tests on Mr Whittaker, but did not undertake an electrocardiogram – a scan which may have identified the condition and enabled doctors to treat it appropriately.

He was discharged from hospital, but died the following day.

Mr Whittaker’s widow pursued a medical negligence claim against the trust, which admitted there had been shortcomings in his treatment and agreed a settlement, which included the six-figure compensation payout.

"[The settlement] accepts that an inappropriate failure to diagnose and treat her late husband’s aortic dissection on July 24th 2006 and that, had appropriate treatment been provided, her late husband would probably have survived," a spokesman for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said.

News of the payout comes just weeks after the NHS Litigation Authority revealed the NHS spent £807 million to settle compensation claims in 2008-09.