Samantha Critchley, Partner
in our medical negligence claims
team, has won £325,000 for a young man who
suffered a serious brachial plexus injury (Erb’s Palsy) during his birth.
Ali's story
In February 1986 Ali's mother went into
labour and was admitted to Luton & Dunstable Hospital. There
were concerns about the baby’s heart rate on the CTG trace. It was
decided to expedite delivery. A failed attempt was made at a
forceps delivery. A ventouse delivery was carried out, according to
the medical records, with “moderate pulls”
Ali was born with an Erb’s palsy and
Horner’s syndrome. This resulted in a permanently damaged arm: his
left arm was 8cms shorter than the right arm and the range of
motion in left shoulder, elbow and wrist was significantly
reduced.
Medical Negligence Claim
It was alleged that the defendant failed to
take appropriate steps to dislodge the claimant’s impacted shoulder
and that excessive force was used to deliver him. It was the
claimant’s case that he would have been delivered unharmed with
appropriate care.
|
A claim was issued in the High Court and a
trial date fixed for 27 July 2009.
The hospital fully defended the claim and
denied liability until very close to trial. After a meeting between
the obstetric experts on both sides, Sam Critchley pressed the
hospital authority for an admission. A formal admission of
negligence was made on 26 May 2009, just days before a settlement
meeting took place.
Following negotiations the
matter settled and the court approved the £325,000 settlement on 4
June 2009.
|
 |
|
|
After the case, Samantha said:
“I am thrilled
to secure another high award of damages in an Erb’s Palsy claim. I am also pleased for my
client that the litigation is finally over and he can now harness
the funds to live independently and maximise his potential. We were
delighted that the hospital did formally accept
responsibility for my client’s injuries; it is just a shame that
the case was defended so close to trial.”
|