£825,000 for maternal birth injuries at James Paget Hospital

Helen Thompson settled a claim on behalf of Mrs B for care she received at James Paget Hospital in respect of injuries she sustained during labour with her third child.

Giving birth to her second child, Mrs B had been given Syntocinon to augment her labour. This had resulted in uterine hyperstimulation and delivery by emergency caesarean section. She was therefore told that she should not have Syntocinon in any future deliveries due to her hypersensitivity to the drug.

In the index pregnancy with her third child, Mrs B went into labour at 36 weeks gestation. On admission, she informed staff of the previous problems with Syntocinon. However, during her labour Syntocinon was started; it was the Claimant's case that this was done without her consent.

Following administration of the drug, Mrs B again suffered with uterine hyperstimulation. She developed a placental abruption and had to be rushed into theatre for delivery by category 1 caesarean section under general anaesthetic.

In its defence, the Trust denied that Syntocinon had been administered without Mrs B's consent but admitted that there was a breach of duty in the management of the Syntocinon in that it should have been stopped. If that had happened, Mrs B would have avoided the category 1 caesarean section.

Following delivery of her baby, Mrs B suffered a huge postpartum haemorrhage. She sustained multiple vaginal, paraurethral and cervical tears and bladder injury. She suffered several further haemorrhages resulting in a blood clotting disorder. A hysterectomy had to be performed.

Following the caesarean section Mrs B required a further five major abdominal surgeries and stenting of the ureters. Mrs B was close to losing her life and required care in ICU. She has also developed moderately severe PTSD. The Trust admitted that with appropriate management, Mrs B would have avoided all injury.

As a result of the admitted negligence, Mrs B is unable to carry a further pregnancy and complete her family. She has continued to suffer with bladder pain and urinary dysfunction. As a result of the multiple abdominal surgeries, she suffers with chronic post traumatic and post operative abdominal pain and associated fatigue. Mrs B has extensive abdominal scarring associated with neuropathic pain.

Mrs B's ongoing PTSD, chronic pain, symptoms and fatigue interfere with her ability to undertake activities of daily living, domestic chores and care for her children. She has been unable to return to work and her chances of doing so in future are doubtful. The nature of Mrs B's pain is refractive to therapies and is likely to persist for the rest of her life.

Initially, while having made some admissions around liability, the defendant refused to enter judgment in Mrs B's claim. Following service of Court Proceedings and a defence it became clear that the defendant's admissions in the defence amounted to a full admission of liability on their own case and, at that stage, the Trust consented to have judgment entered. Shortly after, at a settlement meeting, Helen negotiated a settlement of £825,000 with the Trust.

Contact us

For further information about birth injuries to the mother claims and medical negligence claims, please call Helen Thompson on 0330 460 6765 or email helen.thompson@fieldfisher.com.

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