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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April 9th, 2009
A woman who suffered brain damage at birth is to receive compensation of more than £1 million after the hospital admitted to failings in her care.
Jackie Crothall went into hospital expecting twins in January 1988, but had started to experience difficulties, ThisisHampshire.net attests.
She was in need of an emergency Caesarean, but staff at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester failed to recognise this.
As a result, one twin died and the other, Becky Crothall, suffered brain damage that led to cerebral palsy.
Now 21, she is unable to go out alone and cannot be left unsupervised.
Through her mother, Becky took legal action against South Central Strategic Health Authority and has now secured the payout.
Her legal representative said that the money is not a windfall, but a just settlement to pay for Becky’s future care and the assistance she has already received.
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: 1 Million, 1m, Becky, Birth Injury, Brain Damage, Cerebral Palsy, Compensation Claims, Crothall, Expecting Twins, Future Care, Injury Victim, Legal Representative, Royal Hampshire County, Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Scope, Strategic Health Authority, Winchester, Windfall, Woman
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February 24th, 2009
A 21-year-old man has been awarded compensation following a high court hearing after it was ruled that an NHS trust was responsible for the injuries he sustained during his birth.
Christopher James Langford was born at Sandwell Hospital in Tipton in 1987, local paper the Express and Star reports.
However, his mother began to suffer complications during the delivery. Although an obstetrician was called, he did not arrive and Christopher was starved of oxygen. He went on to develop cerebral palsy.
The court heard that had the doctor arrived when he was called, Christopher could have been delivered within nine minutes and that he would not have developed the disorder.
He will now receive a payout from the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority which is likely to run into millions of pounds in order to cover the costs of his long-term care.
A spokesperson for the trust said it "deeply regrets" Christopher’s injuries and it is now working towards a compensation settlement for him.
According to figures from Scope, one in 400 children born in he UK has cerebral palsy.
Tags: Brain Damage, Cerebral Palsy, Express And Star, High Court Hearing, James Langford, Led, Long Term Care, Nhs Trust, Obstetrician, Old Man, Oxygen, Scope, Spokesperson, Strategic Health Authority, Tipton, West Midlands
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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
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January 22nd, 2009
A child has been awarded £8 million in compensation after she was left with cerebral palsy due to an injury in the womb.
The eight-year-old, who has not been named, was still in her mother’s womb when the car the pregnant woman was travelling in was involved in a head-on collision, according to reports in the Sheffield Telegraph.
Due to the force of the impact, a placental abruption occurred and the child was born with acute cerebral palsy, a non-progressive disorder that affects movement and communication.
She will need care for the rest of her life and her mother launched legal action against the other driver in order to be able to pay for this.
After the insurers of the other car admitted liability, a judge at the high court ordered a payout of £8 million.
According to Scope, one in 400 children born in the UK has cerebral palsy.
Tags: 8m, Cerebral Palsy, Damages, Head On Collision, Placental, Pregnant Woman, Progressive Disorder, Scope, Sheffield Telegraph, Womb
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
