Negligent treatment results in damage to child’s left arm
Peter suffers from a left sided brachial plexus palsy (flaccid paralysis of the arm) and medical negligence solicitor, Caroline Stokes, was instructed to investigate whether this was due to the negligent management of his mother’s labour and his birth at New Cross Hospital.
After delivery it was noted Peter was reluctant to move his arm, and he was diagnosed with an Erb’s palsy (paralysis of the arm caused by injury to the nerves in the arm). The following day he was noted to have bruising to his left upper arm.
Expert evidence was obtained to comment on the standard of care during Peter’s delivery, and the cause of his injury. It was established that New Cross Hospital had in place a protocol for the management of shoulder dystocia (where the shoulder becomes stuck during delivery). It was alleged that this protocol should have been followed by the midwives when delivering Peter, but this was not done. The expert evidence suggested that the midwives had failed to apply suprapubic pressure to release Peter’s shoulder during delivery and that the midwives instead rotated Peter’s shoulders by turning his head and applying strong downward pressure to his head and neck.
A claim was pursued on the basis that these failings caused Peter’s injuries and even though there was a factual dispute between the parties about what happened during the delivery, the claim successfully settled, with Peter being awarded a substantial five figure sum.
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