SERIOUS NEUROLOGICAL AND COGNITIVE INJURY
Admission of liability secured in maximum severity compensation claim concerning serious neurological and cognitive injury to a child after sustaining a negligently caused fractured skull at the time of birth.
JUSTICE FOR BRAIN DAMAGED CHILD
We were successful in overturning a judgement via the Court of Appeal, following a 13-year long dedicated battle over the negligence of a baby girl, at the hands of an NHS doctor, at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow. At the time of the incident, the child (known as FB for the sake of anonymity) was just 13 months old. Her young mother took active steps to care for her daughter, who had become ill, and followed the advice received by several GPs, who gave guidance via the out-of-hours GP service. When FB’s symptoms continued to worsen, with the emergence of severe vomiting and apparent fitting, her mother called for paramedics and she was taken by ambulance to Princess Alexandra Hospital. The A&E Registrar attending the child, recorded that she was ‘alert and well’, although her mother maintains that she was extremely unwell. The doctor did not record that her mother had phoned for an ambulance, or that she had been brought in by paramedics. In the initial judgement, the Judges found that if the doctor had known this information, she would have noted it and referred the child to a pediatrician. Following our successful Appeal, the Judge ruled that it is a doctor’s duty when working in A&E to use appropriate techniques to elicit why the patient is there at that time. Contrary to normal practice, the ambulance, paramedic and triage notes were not with the A&E front sheet that was given to the doctor when she assessed the child in A&E. We will now be quantifying the damages, which are likely to be significant bearing in mind the extent of the life-changing injuries to the child. For more details about this case, click here.
NEGLIGENCE RESULTING IN BRAIN DAMAGE – £4.6 MILLION
Attwaters Jameson Hill’s Medical Negligence team settled a claim for a young woman who suffered brain damage whilst an in-patient at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, for a lump sum and periodical payments totalling approximately 4.6 million pounds.
NEGLIGENT OBSTETRIC CARE LEADING TO DISABILITY – £9 MILLION
An award of £9 million for a bright and intelligent boy trapped in a severely disabled body as a result of negligent obstetric care during his mother’s labour and delivery.
LIABILITY ADMISSION ACHIEVED IN MAXIMUM SEVERITY CASE WHERE A NEWBORN SUFFERED FROM UNTREATED JAUNDICE