Boyes Turner’s birth injury solicitors secured a £17.8 million* settlement for a child who was left with cerebral palsy and complex neurodevelopmental disability from hypoxic birth injury during delays in his delivery and resuscitation after his mother’s requests for delivery by caesarean section were refused.
Following a discounted liability judgment, the final settlement represented 60% of the full-value of the boy’s birth injury claim, but provides him with a £4.85 million lump sum, plus guaranteed, lifelong, tax-free, annual PPO payments of up to £281,320pa to pay for his extensive care and case management.
Maternal requests for caesarean birth refused despite past traumatic births
Our client’s mother had a past history of traumatic births, owing to the disproportionate size of her babies compared with her pelvis in labour. Her history and circumstances should have prompted her maternity team to treat her as high risk during her pregnancy with her third child (our client) ensuring that she was carefully monitored and that her care was managed by a consultant during her labour. During her pregnancy, she repeatedly expressed her concerns to her midwives about not being able to deliver her baby vaginally. She asked for a caesarean birth but her requests were refused.
Hypoxia from FMH and cardiac arrest extended by delivery and resuscitation delays
During labour, her unborn baby suffered a feto-maternal haemorrhage (FMH), a condition in which the baby bleeds into the mother’s circulation. The baby’s reduced blood volume caused him to suffer a cardiac arrest, reducing the oxygen supply to his brain and causing a hypoxic (HIE) brain injury. Fetal heart rate abnormalities were noted during the monitoring of the fetal heart rate, but his hypoxia was prolonged by delays in delivery and unsuccessful resuscitation until a neonatal blood transfusion finally restored his circulation.
Liability settlement guarantees compensation for severely disabled child
We helped the child’s family pursue a birth injury claim on the basis that his brain injury would have been avoided if he had been delivered by a planned caesarean birth in accordance with his mother’s requests, or urgently in response to the evidence of fetal distress during labour. NHS Resolution denied liability (responsibility) and there was disagreement between the medical experts commissioned by both sides, leaving a significant litigation risk that our client’s claim might not succeed at trial.
Given our client’s complex disability and total dependency on others for all activities of daily life, it was vital that we protected his interests and ensured that he would receive substantial compensation to help meet his extensive, lifelong need for care and support. We met with NHS Resolution and negotiated a liability settlement discounted by 40% to reflect the risk of our client not succeeding at trial. This enabled us to secure a 60% liability judgment, guaranteeing that our client would receive substantial compensation for his injury and disability.
£400,000 interim payments meet urgent needs during birth injury claim
The child’s urgent needs were met with interim payments totalling £400,000, whilst we worked with his family and our experts to assess the lifelong cost of meeting his extensive needs and value the claim in preparation for settlement negotiations or an assessment of damages trial.
Settlement provides lump sum and lifelong annual payments for care
Our client has complex physical, cognitive, neuropsychological and behavioural disability, including GMFCS II cerebral palsy from HIE brain injury, developmental delay, epilepsy, pica (an eating disorder leading him to compulsively eat things which are not food) and trismus, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and challenging behaviour. He is mobile with support, doubly incontinent, non-verbal and totally dependent on others for all his needs. He has a long (but slightly shortened) life expectancy.
Following valuation of the claim we entered into settlement negotiations with NHS Resolution. Initial settlement attempts were unsuccessful, as we firmly resisted NHS Resolution’s requirement for our client to indemnify the defendant if he obtained state funding for services related to his disability, such as care. The child’s long life expectancy, total dependency and discounted compensation increased the likelihood that he will need state-funded care top-ups in later life. After further negotiation, NHS Resolution agreed to remove the reverse indemnity, and the £17.8 million* settlement was achieved and approved by the court.
Our client benefits from Court of Protection deputyship. His family’s privacy is protected with an anonymity order.
*capitalised equivalent
If your child has cerebral palsy or neurological disability as a result of medical negligence, or you have been contacted by MNSI or NHS Resolution, you can talk to a solicitor, free and confidentially, for advice about how to respond or make a claim by contacting us.
Written by
Susan Brown
Susan leads the medical negligence team and is recognised as a leading lawyer in the UK, specialising in high value brain injury and cerebral palsy cases.
Share this article:
Related case studies
Podcast
Video
Judgment and interim payment after negligent midwife’s triage call advice leads to birth delays and cerebral palsy
Podcast
Video
CNZ -v- Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust: $45million settlement for claimant
Podcast
Video
£18.7 million* settlement for teenager with cerebral palsy caused by negligently delayed delivery
Podcast
Video
£11.8 million settlement in birth injury claim for child with cerebral palsy
Contact us
If you would like advice regarding a serious injury or illness affecting you or a loved one, please complete the form and one of our experts will be in touch as soon as possible.
Rather give us a call:
Leading medical negligence solicitors for over 30 years
Stay informed with insights from Boyes Turner
Sign up to our newsletteres to receive helpful legal updates, real client stories, and practical guidance from our experts.
