Case study: £10m compensation for child diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to avoidable brain damage

Our medical negligence solicitors helped claim compensation for a child who has cerebral palsy as a result of avoidable brain damage.

Background: visit to GP for chest infection

Our client, a healthy baby girl, developed a chest infection three weeks after her birth. She was taken to an out-of-hours service where her mother was told that she was probably suffering from a virus. Unfortunately, the baby’s condition deteriorated and, after visiting her own GP, they were advised to go to hospital.

At hospital, our client was initially diagnosed as having bronchiolitis. Unfortunately, the hospital failed to monitor her blood pressure adequately and she began to suffer convulsions. An electroencephalogram (EEG) reading and MRI scan showed extensive neurological abnormalities as a result of cerebral underperfusion which caused hypoxic-ischaemic brain damage.

Quadriplegic cerebral palsy as a result of brain damage

As a result of the brain damage, our client has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, continues to suffer from seizures and is unable to move independently. She requires 24-hour care, is doubly incontinent, and has to be fed by a gastrostomy tube.

Reviewing the claim for medical negligence

Once our client’s mother had instructed our medical negligence solicitors, we investigated the child’s case. This involved reviewing her extensive medical records and obtaining detailed expert evidence to determine the precise cause of her injuries.

We also wrote a letter of claim to the hospital who accepted full responsibility.

Our client requires significant care for the rest of her life. Our expert team worked with her family as sensitively as possible to assess the impact of her injuries. This involved careful coordination between a number of independent experts from various fields to help assess the child’s prognosis and the valuation of her claim.

We made a claim for past losses including care and therapies, and also for future care, therapy, equipment and accommodation for her and her family.

The case settled for a lump sum of £3.5m plus annual payments for the rest of the child’s life, likely to total £10m.

Avoiding the same mistakes

Our Court of Protection team, are continuing to work hard to ensure the best outcome for this child. We hope that by highlighting the failures in her treatment, similar mistakes will be less likely to happen in the hospital where our client was treated.

Get in touch with our cerebral palsy claims solicitors

If you or a member of your family have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a result of medical negligence, we are here to help. Our specialist solicitors work with clients all over the UK from our offices in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

For a confidential discussion about a potential cerebral palsy claim, call us on 0117 325 2929 or complete our online enquiry form.