Claim news
17/11/2010

Undiagnosed spina bifida leads to clinical negligence award

A mother, whose baby was born with spina bifida which was not diagnosed in an antenatal scan, has received an interim clinical negligence compensation payment after the High Court agreed an NHS trust was at fault.

Lawyers for Bedford Hospital NHS Trust admitted that staff who checked the scans should have recognised that the foetus was suffering from the disabling condition, and that the mother should have been counselled and offered a termination.

The court awarded the mother £515,000 damages which she intends to use to move her and the boy, who was born in 2005 and requires constant attention, into a specially-adapted home.

The judge said there should be an exchange of medical evidence to resolve further issues relating to the degree of clinical negligence, before a final financial settlement of the claim is made.