February 18th, 2011
In March 2003 Lucy gave birth to her first child.
The doctor tried to remove the placenta manually, but the cord became separated from the placenta, and it had to be removed in pieces manually.
Lucy started to recover and was discharged three days after giving birth, but continued to suffer ‘flu type symptoms and continued to bleed from her vagina.
At the start of April 2003 Lucy contacted her GP as she had passed a large blood clot. She was immediately referred to hospital and an ultrasound there confirmed the presence of pieces of the placenta in her womb.
The following day Lucy underwent surgery to remove the pieces of placenta. However, during the procedure the base layer of the endometrium was removed causing a condition called Asherman’s syndrome. This prevented Lucy from having periods and made the chances of future conception very unlikely.
Fortunately Lucy did conceive and gave birth to her second child in September 2009, although she had been unable to plan this pregnancy.
Lucy contacted Pryers in July 2006 to investigate her claim and Alex McKnight, as specialist in clinical negligence claims handled her case. She entered into a ‘no win no fee’ agreement to fund the case.
Prior to the second pregnancy the Defendant agreed that Lucy was suffering from Asherman’s Syndrome. However, following the second pregnancy they stated that this was an incorrect diagnosis and that in the alternative if the diagnosis was correct, the cause was a pelvic infection, rather than the consequences of any negligence.
We obtained expert evidence which was supportive, but the Defendant’s expert disagreed on almost every point.
The matter was listed to go to trial in February 2011, however, in December 2010 an offer was received from the Defendant to settle Lucy’s compensation and our costs.
Lucy received £7,500 in damages to cover the pain and suffering and the subsequent difficulties in family planning in addition to the Defendant paying our costs so she did not have anything to pay and received 100% of her compensation.
Tags: Asherman S Syndrome, Blood Clot, Clinical Negligence, Consequences, Damages, Defendant, Endometrium, Expert Evidence, Family Planning, Flu, Giving Birth, Incorrect Diagnosis, Lucy, Pain And Suffering, Pelvic Infection, Placenta, Second Pregnancy, Ultrasound, Vagina, Womb
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August 5th, 2009
The parents of a baby who died shortly after her birth are to receive compensation for the errors made at the time.
Ellie Harman was delivered at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in October 2006, but staff failed to notice that she was the wrong way up in the womb, the London Evening Standard reports.
As a result, midwives used the wrong forceps and Ellie was suffocated. Although attempts were made to resuscitate her, the life support machine was turned off five days later.
Ben and Katherine Harman took legal action against the hospital, claiming that their daughter would still be alive had it not been for the failings there. Mrs Harman alleged that she was made to wait for two hours before being admitted to the ward because of overcrowding.
In a new development, those responsible for the hospital have agreed to a £50,000 payout for the pain and suffering the parents were caused.
According to the Daily Telegraph, half of all claims for clinical negligence are maternity cases.
Tags: Attempts, Baby Parents, Chelsea And Westminster Hospital, Clinical Negligence, Daily Telegraph, Ellie, Forceps, Harman, London Evening Standard, Maternity, Overcrowding, Womb, Wrong Way
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August 5th, 2009
The parents of a baby who died shortly after her birth are to receive compensation for the errors made at the time.
Ellie Harman was delivered at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in October 2006, but staff failed to notice that she was the wrong way up in the womb, the London Evening Standard reports.
As a result, midwives used the wrong forceps and Ellie was suffocated. Although attempts were made to resuscitate her, the life support machine was turned off five days later.
Ben and Katherine Harman took legal action against the hospital, claiming that their daughter would still be alive had it not been for the failings there. Mrs Harman alleged that she was made to wait for two hours before being admitted to the ward because of overcrowding.
In a new development, those responsible for the hospital have agreed to a £50,000 payout for the pain and suffering the parents were caused.
According to the Daily Telegraph, half of all claims for clinical negligence are maternity cases.
Tags: Attempts, Baby Parents, Chelsea And Westminster Hospital, Clinical Negligence, Daily Telegraph, Ellie, Forceps, Harman, London Evening Standard, Maternity, Overcrowding, Womb, Wrong Way
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June 5th, 2009
The husband of a woman who died in hospital after her abnormal pregnancy was not diagnosed is considering legal action against the NHS trust he holds responsible.
Lizzie Nightingale, 25, suffered a miscarriage, but had continued to experience problems and returned to Rotherham Hospital twice regarding bleeding and feeling unwell, the Sheffield Star attests.
However, she was sent away to see how she got on without further treatment. Ms Nightingale was in fact suffering from a molar pregnancy.
Some weeks later, she collapsed and was rushed to hospital where she had an emergency operation to remove "products of conception" from her womb.
She had a heart attack and died on the operating table. Husband Wayne Manton is now considering the advice of a solicitor before making a decision regarding a compensation claim.
"To me, the fact this abnormal pregnancy went undiagnosed suggests her death might have been avoidable," he commented.
According to MolarPregnancy.co.uk, this condition is a kind of trophoblastic disease in which there is an abnormal overgrowth of all or part of the placenta. A persistent gestational trophoblastic disease can grow very quickly and requires active treatment as soon as possible.
Tags: Abnormal Pregnancy, Compensation Claim, Emergency Operation, Gestational Trophoblastic Disease, Heart Attack, Lizzie, Manton, Molar Pregnancy, Molarpregnancy, Nhs Trust, Nightingale, Placenta, Sheffield Star, Solicitor, Suffering From, Woman, Womb
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May 11th, 2009
A child who was left with cerebral palsy after hospital staff failed to deliver her quickly enough has been awarded millions of pounds in compensation.
Elise Frith, now six, was born at Milton Keynes Hospital, but although her mother Yelena had been suffering from abdominal pains, an emergency Caesarean was not performed until more than two hours after a problem was detected.
The child was deprived of oxygen and now has mobility and communication problems as a result of her cerebral palsy, Milton Keynes Today reports.
Milton Keynes Hospital admitted that its staff had been negligent in not taking Ms Frith in for surgery sooner and this week approved a compensation payout that, although confidential, is believed to amount to millions of pounds.
According to the charity Scope, one in every 400 children in the UK is born with cerebral palsy.
This is most commonly the result of failure of a part of the brain to develop and can be caused by a lack of oxygen in the womb, as was the case here.
Tags: Abdominal Pains, Cerebral Palsy, Charity, Communication Problems, Failure, Frith, Hospital Staff, Lack Of Oxygen, Milton Hospital, Milton Keynes, Part Of The Brain, Scope, Womb, Yelena
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