Psychiatric claim agreed for mother of brain-injured boy born at Frimley Park Hospital while assessment proceeds

Barbara* instructed Iona Meeres-Young to investigate clinical negligence claims for her and her son in relation to the care they received during labour and delivery at Frimley Park Hospital in 2019.

Barbara's son suffered a brain injury during his birth and now lives with global developmental delay, speech and language delay, behavioural difficulties, a hearing impairment and poor coordination.

Following instruction, Iona carried out investigations into their care,  including obtaining reports from independent medical experts.

In June 2022, Frimley Park NHS Foundation Trust made an early admission of liability in relation to the care Barbara received prior to the birth of her son. The Trust admitted there had been negligent care during Barbara's  labour and that her son should have been born 56 minutes earlier than he was. It admitted that this failure in care resulted in her son suffering a brain injury.

An expert psychiatrist concluded that Barbara had suffered psychiatric injuries arising from her son's birth. Following the admission, Iona negotiated with the Trust and agreed settlement for Barbara's claim for psychiatric injury. This included provision for her to access privately funded therapy.

Court proceedings began in respect of the son's claim and the admission of liability formally recorded with the Court. In line with advice from medical experts, it was agreed that the boy is too young for the extent of his injuries to be fully understood and his claim was put under a stay of proceedings until he is older and his needs can be fully assessed and quantified for the purposes of the legal claim.

While the son's claim remains stayed, Iona secured a substantial interim payment from the Trust to fund ongoing private care and therapy to meet his immediate needs until further investigations can assess the appropriate level of compensation for his claim.

* name changed

Contact us

For further information about birth injuries to mother claims or medical negligence claims, please call Iona Meeres-Young on 03304606769 or email iona.meeres-young@fieldfisher.com.

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• You can speak to our medical negligence solicitors on freephone 0800 358 3848
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All enquiries are completely free of charge and we will investigate all funding options for you including no win, no fee.