Clinical negligence news
21/12/2010

Clinical negligence damages for boy's cerebral palsy

A boy who suffered cerebral palsy as a result of clinical negligence by staff at a Blackburn hospital is to receive up to £6m in compensation for the disabilities he has suffered.

The birth injury resulted from a decision to give his mother a drug, syntocinon, to accelerate her contractions after the foetus was found to have an abnormal heartbeat. However, the effect was to cause the womb to constrict so much that the baby's blood supply was disrupted and he was unable to breathe.

A medical negligence solicitor for the family told the press that if the more usual procedure of monitoring the birth then delivery either with forceps, or by caesarean section, had been carried out, the baby was likely to have been born without brain damage.

Due to the hospital's actions, the boy has severe learning difficulties and physical disabilities affecting all four limbs, requiring him to have 24-hour care.

Although East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust initially denied liability for the personal injury in 2002, it admitted being at fault in March this year and negotiations have followed to determine a suitable amount of damages. It has apologised to the family.

A clinical negligence compensation award of £100,000 a year will be made until the boy is 18, continuing then at a rate of £185,000 for the remainder of his life.