Delay in birth of second twin leads to cerebral palsy
When Joyce was in labour with twins, there was a 47 minute delay before the second twin, Matthew, was delivered.
As a result, Matthew suffered from a lack of oxygen to his body (hypoxia), and this led him to develop cerebral palsy, a permanent disabling condition which is untreatable.
The readings from a cardiotocograph, or CTG, which monitors the fetal heart rate at birth, should have alerted medical staff that a quicker delivery was necessary. The delay, however, meant that the umbilical cord became compressed just before and after delivery which caused the hypoxia.
Matthew successfully pursued a claim for clinical negligence.
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