April 23rd, 2009
An NHS trust has awarded compensation of £6.3 million to the parents of a girl who was left brain damaged due to mistakes at her birth.
Ellie Matraves was born clinically dead at Lister Hospital in Herfordshire in 2002 because medical staff had not noticed that she was showing signs of distress, the high court heard.
She had to be aggressively resuscitated for several hours and developed cerebral palsy, leaving her with communication problems and a reduced developmental age, the BBC reports.
Her parents Claire and Colin Matraves took legal action against the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust for clinical negligence.
"We feel it is important for people to understand that if it hadn’t been for the hospital’s appalling negligence, our daughter would have been born a healthy non-disabled baby girl," they said in a statement.
The trust admitted liability and has agreed to a £2.4 million lump sum payout, as well as annual payments to cover care for the rest of Ellie’s life.
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: 3m, Baby Girl, Bbc, Brain, Cerebral Palsy, Clinical Negligence, Communication Problems, Compensation Claims, Ellie, Herfordshire, Lump Sum Payout, Medical Staff, Nhs Trust, North Hertfordshire, Parents, People, Scope, Signs
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October 15th, 2008
A man from Teesside has secured compensation to cover the cost of his long term care after he was injured at birth.
Chad Willis, now 18, was born at North Tees General Hospital in 1990, but became distressed prior to his delivery.
He was starved of oxygen and now suffers from severe cerebral palsy, the BBC reports.
As a result, Mr Willis needs round-the-clock care and is dependent upon his family and carers.
The North East Strategic Heath Authority – which has eight hospital trusts, 12 primary care trusts, one ambulance trust and two specialist trusts providing mental health and learning disabilities services – admitted liability in 2003 and has now agreed on a settlement in London’s high court.
Mr Willis will be paid £2.36 million as a lump sum, as well as £106,000 a year for the rest of his life.
His mother Melanie said she was relieved that the case has finally been settled.
"It is heartbreaking that he has suffered in this way through sheer carelessness on the part of the medical staff who should have been looking after him," she commented.
Tags: Ambulance, Bbc, Bbc Reports, Cerebral Palsy, Chad, Clock Care, Learning Disabilities Services, London, Long Term Care, Lump Sum, Medical Staff, Melanie, Mental Health, Mr Willis, North Tees General Hospital, Oxygen, Primary Care, Sheer Carelessness, Teesside
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September 18th, 2008
A woman is to receive compensation from the NHS after finding she has terminal cancer, despite being given the all-clear by medical staff.
Tara Jones, 26, went to have a mole inspected in 2005, which resulted in doctors telling her she was fine following tests.
However, Ms Jones continued to lose weight and feel unwell.
After seeking a second opinion, it was found that she did have cancer and that it had spread to her bones.
It is now too advanced to be successfully treated and Ms Jones has been told she has only months to live.
"Because of a basic medical mistake I am dying. It’s just too unbearable to think about. I am living day to day – I just don’t know how long I’ve got," Ms Jones commented to the Western Mail.
Although the Cwm Taf NHS Trust said it was unable to comment on specific cases, Ms Jones has now been paid a £10,000 interim compensation payout while the final amount is decided upon.
Anyone who has endured pain and suffering as the result of a cancer misdiagnosis that would not have occurred had the diagnosis been correct may be entitled to claim compensation and should seek legal advice.
Tags: Blunder, Bones, Cwm, Diagnosis, Doctors, Interim, Legal Advice, Medical Mistake, Medical Staff, Misdiagnosis, Mole, Ms Jones, Nhs Trust, Pain And Suffering, Second Opinion, Tara, Terminal Cancer, Western Mail, Woman
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August 18th, 2008
The parents of a young girl who was starved of oxygen at birth are claiming clinical negligence against the hospital that delivered her.
Amelia Rayner, who is now six years old, was born in June 2002 at Calderdale Royal Hospital, the Halifax Evening Courier reports.
Medical staff noticed that her heart rate had slowed considerably and, over four hours later, delivered her by caesarean section.
However, she subsequently had to be resuscitated and was left with a form of cerebral palsy – a physical condition which affects movement.
She suffers from epilepsy, has difficulty communicating and has severe learning disabilities.
Her mother, Lorraine McIntyre, said: "There are, of course, financial implications and although we have been helped by the local authorities we have accepted that we won’t get everything we need provided for us this way."
According to the family’s solicitor, earlier intervention by doctors would have meant Amelia would have been born without problems.
Tags: Caesarean Section, Calderdale Royal Hospital, Cerebral Palsy, Clinical Negligence, Doctors, Epilepsy, Financial Implications, Halifax Evening Courier, Heart Rate, Learning Disabilities, Local Authorities, Lorraine, Medical Staff, Oxygen, Parents, Rayner, Resuscitated, Six Years, Solicitor, Young Girl
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August 1st, 2008
A breast cancer patient who claims she has been left both physically and mentally damaged after undergoing surgery has been successful in her claim for compensation.
The woman, who did not wish to be named, had mastectomy, reconstruction and breast reduction operations between October 2003 and April 2005, Yorkshire paper the Star reports.
Three initial surgical procedures were performed by different medical staff, while the reduction was performed by breast surgeon Puvaneswary Markandoo, who was suspended in July 2006 and is currently being investigated by the General Medical Council.
The patient needed treatment to rectify problems caused by the operations and still requires further corrective surgery.
In a recent development, her legal team has negotiated a settlement with Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs a 450-bed associate teaching and research hospital.
Although the precise figure has not been revealed, it is said to be a "substantial sum".
Tags: April 2005, Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Patient, Breast Reduction, Breast Surgeon, Corrective Surgery, Foundation Trust, General Medical Council, Mastectomy, Medical Staff, Precise Figure, Reconstruction, Reduction Operations, Substantial Sum, Surgical Procedures, Wins, Yorkshire
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