Case study: hospital’s failure to manage placental abruption causes baby to develop cerebral palsy

Our specialist medical negligence solicitors obtained compensation worth over £26.5m for a young woman who developed cerebral palsy as a result of a hospital’s negligence. During her birth, the obstetric team failed to act quickly enough to deliver her after her mother suffered a life-threatening placental abruption.

Failure to act quickly leads to brain injury

Our client’s mother suffered a placental abruption during labour. Placental abruption is a life-threatening obstetric emergency where the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus before birth. It caused blood loss to our client’s mother and a lack of oxygen to our client.

Abnormalities in our client’s heart rate demonstrated that she was in distress but these were not acted on quickly enough by the hospital’s obstetric team. By the time our client was delivered by emergency caesarean section, she had sustained a brain injury (peri-ventricular leukomalacia or PVL) resulting from lack of oxygen (hypoxic ischaemia).

As a result of her brain injuries, our client developed spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (GMFCS Level III) and significant learning difficulties. Our client has severely reduced mobility and is unable to walk or stand independently. She requires lifelong care, specialist accommodation and equipment, and will be unable to work.

Starting a medical negligence claim

Our client’s mother approached our medical negligence solicitors to help make a claim for her daughter’s cerebral palsy. Our team obtained independent expert evidence which was highly critical of the care provided to our client. Our client’s case was put to the Defendant hospital, which admitted liability and apologised for its failings.

Our medical negligence lawyers obtained an interim payment of damages and appointed a case manager to support our client and family. Carers and therapy providers were appointed and our client was moved into adapted accommodation. We commissioned a host of evidence from rehabilitation experts to assess our client’s long-term needs and used this to value their claim.

Settlement

Following extensive negotiations with the Defendant’s lawyers, our medical negligence solicitors achieved a settlement for our client. This compensation provides a significant lump sum for her immediate needs and ensures that her ongoing care needs will be met for life through guaranteed annual payments.

Contact our cerebral palsy solicitors

Supporting a child with cerebral palsy can be challenging. Our medical negligence solicitors appreciate that cerebral palsy cannot be cured, and negligence cannot be undone, but with specialist management, care and equipment, it is normally possible to significantly improve the quality of your child’s life.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to an injury at birth, our specialist team may be able to help. For a no-obligation chat, call 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch.