The Family Of An Eight Year Old Girl Receive £4m In Compensation For Brain Injury Birth Negligence

The family of an eight-year-old 8 girl, born with a brain injury which caused severe cerebral palsy has received £4 million in compensation.

The girl’s mother, 29, says that when her daughter, was born at the University Coventry Hospital she was starved of oxygen and should have been delivered sooner.

Diagnosed With Brain Injury Following Birth

The girl’s mother says that she had had a ‘normal’ pregnancy and admitted herself to hospital when she started experiencing labour pains in April 2005.

During her initial stay, the girl’s mother was attached to a heart monitor which recorded some dips in the baby’s heartbeat. The following morning she could not remember feeling the baby move since the previous evening. She began to feel more pain and the baby’s heart rate dropped further. The doctors were called but they did not arrive.

The baby was eventually delivered later that evening, she was not breathing and her body was floppy and pale and she needed to be resuscitated. She was taken to the neonatal unit and was later diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy caused by a significant brain injury through lack of oxygen at birth.

The baby’s mother began her case when her child was 6 months old and this week her case was finally heard in Coventry by the High Court. The court approved the settlement figure which includes a £1.7 m lump sum in annual payments for the child’s care.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) admitted its negligence in that it should have ensured that the baby was delivered sooner. The girl’s mother commented that she was glad it was all over.

Chief Medical Officer at UH, Meghana Pandit said: ‘We are sincerely sorry for the indescribable distress that the family will have experienced’ adding that steps had since been taken to improve the labour ward.

Compensation Will Give Peace Of Mind

The girl’s condition means that she is not able to sit on her own, she cannot communicate and has limited vision and seizures. Plans for the compensation includes making a sensory room for Hollie.

The girl’s mother, told the press it was good to know that her daughter will always be cared for no matter what happens to her or her partner.

She has said it has been difficult having to provide for her daughter because of the equipment costs and the fact that she has three other younger children to care for, adding that her daughter never went without.

Claiming Compensation For A Brain Injury

If you or a family member has suffered a brain injury or you feel that there is cause to make any type of compensation claim, including one for medical negligence, then please get in touch on 0333 358 3034.

Published 16th February 2015.