Pages On: Birth Injury
Having a child is mostly a magical experience, however, preventable complications can arise. Medical professionals hold a duty of care to all patients, and pregnant people are no different. Injuries during childbirth can occur to the mother and baby where doctors and nurses act negligently. It can have seriously damaging consequences for the life of the child, such oxygen starvation leading to cerebral palsy. Such conditions can render a child essentially helpless, needing constant care. This not only removes the livelihood of the child, but the parents also. If you’ve suffered a birth injury, and feel medical negligence is to blame, you may be entitled to claim compensation.
Jeremy Hunt announces plans to halve baby deaths in UK
Posted: 16 November 2015
Posted in: Birth Injury, Head and Brain Injuries, Medical Negligence
According to a 2011 study by the Lancet Medical Journal, it was found that England has higher figures than the rest of much of the developed world for stillbirths. As a result of this, and subsequent studies, Jeremy Hunt has announced plans to halve the number of stillbirths and new born deaths in the UK by 2030. On top of this, the health secretary also stated that the Government has committed to reducing the number of brain injuries sustained during or after birth. The Lancet Medical Journal’s study found that…
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Mother awarded £725,000 over birthing complications
Posted: 25 October 2015
Posted in: Birth Injury, Medical Negligence, Shoulder Injuries
The mother of a baby that was left permanently disabled following birthing complications has been awarded £725,000 in compensation. The woman, who remains anonymous, claimed that Sister Rosemary Murphy at Law Hospital’s maternity unit failed to deliver her baby son properly in 1999. It was heard at Court of Sessions in Edinburgh earlier this year that Sister Murphy had delivered the baby in a way that caused him to suffered a severe shoulder injury. It was heard that a student midwife had initially attempted to deliver the baby, yet when…
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Hospital due to pay out millions for causing autism
Posted: 29 June 2015
Posted in: Birth Injury, Medical Negligence
East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust is facing a compensation payout of millions of pounds after a couple recognised that medical negligence was responsible for their son’s autism. Ben Harman’s parents are taking the trust to court with the belief that their son’s autism was caused by a birthing accident at Kent and Canterbury Hospital in 2002. They only recognised that this could be the case when they applied for a disabled parking badge. Ben’s parents began to worry about their son’s wellbeing when he failed to reach certain milestones during…
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MPs call for an NHS accident investigations unit
Posted: 31 March 2015
Posted in: Birth Injury, Medical Negligence, NHS Claims
Following recent debate, MPs have called for the launch of a national medical accident investigations unit. Members of the House of Commons Public Administration select committee said that it was a much called for service due to the scale of problems currently being handled within the NHS. The group of MPs described the current accident investigations system as “too complicated” and complained that it “took too long”. Government ministers agreed that such a unit was required after the publication of the ‘Morecambe Bay hospital inquiry’, detailing the figures surrounding baby…
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Young girl awarded £10m
Posted: 1 February 2015
Posted in: Birth Injury, Head and Brain Injuries, Medical Negligence
A seven-year-old girl who is described as having her mind “trapped in a body” has been awarded £10m in compensation following birthing errors. Eva Totham from south-east London was starved of oxygen during birth in 2007, which left her with severe cerebral palsy. King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust admitted failings and accepted liability for her brain injuries. The compensation package awarded to Eva will cover all past and future care costs and loss of earnings as Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing ruled that she most likely would have attended university.…
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Mother drinking during pregnancy equivalent to manslaughter
Posted: 10 November 2014
Posted in: Birth Injury, Criminal Injury and Assault
A compensation claim was recently opened on behalf of a baby that was subjected to heavy drinking while in the womb. The court appeal described the damage inflicted upon the unborn baby as equivalent to ‘an attempt at manslaughter’. The lawyers behind the young girl’s claim, who is now aged seven, said that she was entitled to payments from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). The young girl’s case raised numerous complex questions. One debate attempted to determine whether or not the mother’s drinking habits were in fact a criminal…
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NHS at ‘breaking point’
Posted: 6 October 2014
Posted in: Birth Injury, Medical Negligence, NHS Claims
Numerous charities and leading medical groups have warned that the NHS is at “breaking point”. A letter composed by the leaders of these organisations was released over the weekend, highlighting the vast number of problems that need to be fixed in order for the NHS to be saved from it “buckling under the twin crises of rising demand and flat-lining budgets”. The letter highlighted that patient care and staff morale are two key areas being consistently neglected by the NHS. Within these two core zones for improvement, patients are struggling…
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Report into NHS maternity care claims
Posted: 1 November 2012
Posted in: Birth Injury, Medical Negligence, NHS Claims
Having a baby while in the care of the NHS is very safe, according to a recently published report. However, more training, development and support for clinical staff could help to protect mothers and their babies from accidental injury. The report published by the NHS Litigation Authority, which manages legal claims made against the NHS in England, examined ten years of claims arising from NHS maternity care. While 5.5 million babies were born in England during the decade from 1st April 2000 to 31st March 2010, these resulted in 5,087…
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