Compensation for child with brain injuries caused at birth
Bailey’s mother, Amy, was fifteen when she discovered that she was pregnant for the first time. She saw her GP, who referred her to the local maternity unit, where she was booked for delivery.
Her mother, Anne, went with her to her antenatal appointments. The question of the best place for Amy to have her baby was never fully discussed with her and Anne. They did not know that the midwives at the maternity unit could not carry out episiotomies or instrumental deliveries (e.g. forceps) if complications arose during labour and that there would be no paediatrician on site in case the baby needed medical attention. If they had been aware of the limitations of the services available at the maternity unit, they would have decided that Amy would deliver at a hospital.
Amy’s pregnancy progressed normally, but her scans showed that she was carrying a big baby. Anne was worried about this and asked several times whether Amy should be having her baby in a maternity unit, which was staffed by midwives rather than doctors. However, they were reassured that it would be fine for Amy to give birth in the maternity unit and that if there were any problems she could be taken to hospital by ambulance.
Amy went into labour just over two weeks before her due date and was taken to the maternity unit. When she was examined, the midwives noted the large size of the baby and also discovered that he was not facing the right way round to be born. The midwives had been monitoring the baby’s heart intermittently, and around the time Amy started pushing the heart rate began to decrease. Amy carried on pushing, but her labour was not progressing and the baby’s heart rate continued to be abnormal. An ambulance was called and Amy was transferred to hospital, which took about twenty-five minutes. On arrival at the hospital, Bailey’s heart rate had dropped, and after some further delay he was delivered by ventouse (suction cup). Bailey was deprived of oxygen during labour, and as a result he suffered brain injuries and now has cerebral palsy. He is severely disabled and needs twenty-four hour care.
Anne, Amy and her partner, Gareth, approached Irwin Mitchell to bring a claim for compensation on Bailey’s behalf for his injuries. The claim was based on the NHS Trust’s failure to advise Amy and Anne fully of the risks of delivering Amy’s first baby at a maternity unit, to transfer her to hospital when the baby was found to be large and in the wrong position and also to transfer her earlier when the abnormalities in the heart rate persisted. The Trust denied liability and maintained that Amy and Anne had been properly counselled about the most appropriate place for Amy to give birth. However, with the assistance of medical negligence lawyers Angela Kirtley and Julia Cotterill, Anne and Amy secured an out of court settlement in the sum of £2 million, which will be held by the Court of Protection and administered in Bailey’s best interests by Irwin Mitchell’s specialist Court of Protection Department. The funds will be used to provide the twenty-four hour care and any equipment and therapies that Bailey needs for the rest of his life.
