Birth delivery delay leads to brain damage

H’s mother, Mrs W was admitted to Lewisham Hospital in the early hours of 23 December 2002 after her waters had broken.  It was agreed with the on call registrar that she should be observed and that medical staff should be contacted and a CTG trace commenced if there was any increase in uterine activity.  Mrs W was to be delivered by caesarean section as H was a breech presentation.

Mrs W’s evidence was that during the night she began to feel contractions and on three occasions she went from her bed to the midwife’s station to inform them.  No action was taken by the midwives other than to advise the contractions had to be 3 minutes apart before anything needed to be done.

At 6:40 am a midwife did eventually see Mrs W and she was put on a CTG trace which was abnormal. The registrar personally wheeled Mrs W to the operating theatre and performed an emergency caesarean section.

During the course of the proceedings the midwife responsible for Mrs W’s care filed a witness statement to the effect that Mrs W had been asleep all night and that she had made no complaints to the midwives about increased uterine activity.

Further he claimed that Mrs W had been admitted to hospital in an ambulance, had been placed in bed B1 and had been wearing pink pyjamas. In fact Mrs W had been driven to hospital by her husband, was in bed A1 and she wore a blue night dress. The case turned on the facts. 

The Defendants admitted that had H been delivered earlier she would not have sustained brain damage.

The parties proceeded to a settlement meeting and it was agreed that H will recover 90% of damages to be assessed at a later date.

The settlement was approved by the High Court on 29 June 2009.