Fatal Neonatal claim

Sahida Patel, medical negligence solicitor, successfully settled a fatal neonatal claim for £90,000 following the death of a baby who tragically died within hours of his birth.

The Facts

Miss K, the baby’s mother, developed obstetric cholestasis during her pregnancy.  This condition affects the liver and causes a build up of bile acids in the body. 

The Hospital staff made the decision to induce Miss K to start her labour.  Unfortunately, as her labour progressed monitoring of the baby’s heart showed abnormalities but the staff did not recognise these or act upon blood stained liquor that Miss K had passed.  Only after a further period of delay was Miss K sent for a caesarean section.  Her baby was sadly delivered in very poor condition.

The baby was diagnosed with severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (caused by oxygen starvation).  A heart breaking conversation took place between doctors, Miss K and her partner and the decision was taken to turn the baby’s life support off based on medical advice about the extent of injuries and severe brain damage.

Our Investigation

The Hospital investigated Miss K’s baby’s death.  They identified failings in:

• Responding, acting on and escalating concerns about the baby’s heart rate;
• Repairing faulty baby heart monitoring equipment; and
• Staff failing to seek timely advice and input from obstetric doctors.

The Hospital acknowledged that Miss K’s unborn baby was healthy before her induced labour started.  They recognised that her baby should have been delivered in the same healthy state if staff had correctly monitored his heart rate and that a failure to do so led to Miss K’s baby being born with devastating brain damage. 

We invited the Hospital to admit fault and they accepted liability at an early stage.

We then assessed Miss K’s injuries stemming from her baby’s death.  She was seen by an independent psychiatrist who confirmed that her relationship with her partner (the baby’s father) had broken down. Miss K also found it difficult to socialise with friends and family or go into public places where she might see babies or children.   

Due to the breakdown in Miss K’s relationship with her partner, her age, and the fact that her baby was her first child, there was also a risk that she may not be able to have any more children naturally. This was understandably a major concern for her.

With all of these factors in mind, the Hospital agreed to pay £90,000 compensation.

Client comments

“Sahida, thank you for your support that you have given to me. Thank you for being with me through the difficult time of my life.”

Why choose us to help?

Sahida Patel and the medical negligence team here are leading lawyers in this area of law and have renowned expertise in birth injury and fatal accident claims.

More information about cerebral palsy claims can be accessed by clicking here and information about our team of expert lawyers can be found here.