£100,000 compensation award for a mother who had lost her child aged nine as a consequence of injuries suffered when he was assumed stillborn.
The claimant claimed a statutory bereavement award and general damages for pain, injury, suffering and loss of amenity suffered by her deceased son, Baby X. Baby X was born on 20 May 2005 and died, aged nine, on 17 October 2014. She was represented by our managing director, Caroline Moore.
Background
Baby X had been born prematurely at 24 weeks + 4 days gestation. He was presumed dead by the midwife managing the delivery, so he was laid uncovered on a towel and, as such, became very cold (hypothermic). However, some 20 minutes later, jerk movements were observed by the midwife, and a clinician attended. Signs of life were observed, and resuscitation commenced.
As a result of the failure to provide appropriate care, Baby X suffered hypoxia, leading to severe lung disease. He needed reintubation and ventilation on two occasions whilst in special baby care, and ultimately needed a permanent tracheostomy by reason of the repeated intubations until his death.
The Legal Case
In relation to the multiple breaches of duty of midwifery care, all were admitted.
The case was that Baby X was born in relatively good condition, evidenced by his survival of the neglect suffered immediately following delivery. In addition, although Baby X was likely to have had difficulties relating to his prematurity, the delay materially contributed to profound hypoxia, which caused the development of various conditions, including:
- Bulbar palsy
- Microcephaly
- Spastic quadriplegia
- Global development delay with a requirement for permanent tracheotomy
The latter condition was the direct cause of the child’s death, aged nine, when attempted replacement of the tracheostomy tube failed.
The Hospital Trust denied causation and material contribution and alleged that the Baby X’s poor long-term outcome and/or death were caused by antenatal factors and extreme prematurity.
An offer of £19,000 was made prior to the experts’ joint discussion. However, during a joint discussion, the neonatology experts instructed for each side agreed that there was material contribution in a joint discussion.
The Settlement
The claim was limited to a claim for general damages in Christ's estate in
excess of £100,000 but limited to £150,000 and statutory bereavement. There were no special damages claimed in the estate as the deceased child had lived his life in foster care.
The out-of-court settlement totalled £100,000 in damages. The settlement reflected an estimated valuation of general damages in the region of £125,000 less a discount for litigation risk on quantum and the claimant’s desire to settle at the Round Table Meeting (RTM).
“The mother of Baby X had approached many other solicitors before she came to Medical Solicitors. She had been turned away by all of them. She had had to represent herself at an inquest into the death of Baby X. The findings by the coroner at the inquest were not particularly helpful to a prospective clinical negligence claim. However, I saw past all of that and took this case on, as my gut instinct was that this was a case where justice needed to be served. I’m very glad that we did take this course of action in this case, given the outcome for Baby X’s mother and her family.”Caroline Moore, Managing Director and Solicitor
At Medical Solicitors, our compassionate approach puts you first, and we are able to work the majority of our cases on a conditional fee agreement (also known as no-win, no-fee). If you have suffered medical negligence or mistreatment that led to a stillbirth or neonatal death, please get in touch today to speak to one of our highly-qualified solicitors about bringing a birth injury claim.
