Liability settlement for mother and son following birth injury at scandal-hit Nottingham Hospitals maternity department

Arti Shah secured liability settlement for a four-year-old boy for injuries suffered during the course of his mother's labour and his delivery at Nottingham City Hospital. The boy, ABC, is anonymised by the Courts. 

ABC's mother's pregnancy was uncomplicated during the antenatal period, but she alleged a number of breaches of duty from the time she attended hospital a few days before ABC's birth.

It was alleged that:

• There was a failure to be seen by an obstetrician
• There was a failure to monitor mother
• There was a failure to properly consider ABC's mother's requests for Caesarean section, and which was negligently refused
• There was a delay in delivery when the CTG trace became abnormal

The Defendant accepted that ABC suffered a chronic partial hypoxic insult, but did not accept this could have been avoided with earlier delivery. However, they invited ABC and his family to attend a Round Table Meeting (RTM) to discuss settlement.

Agreement was then reached in ABC's favour at 75 per cent, with damages to be assessed when the Claimant is old enough to undergo further investigations. A separate sum was negotiated to compensate his mother for her injuries. Both issues were resolved without an admission of liability from the Defendant.

An Approval Hearing on liability only took place at the Royal Courts of Justice in June 2022 before Deputy High Court judge Karen Ridge. The Trust's barrister said it was 'very sorry' the boy, now aged two, was injured. The case was reported by the BBC and local press. 

Arti Shah currently represents several families who have been affected by failings at maternity units at Nottingham City Hospital and Queen's Medical Centre.

According to a recent joint investigation by Channel 4 and the Independent newspaper, dozens of babies have died or have been left with brain damage following poor care received at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust maternity units. It was reported that between 2010-2020, at least 46 babies suffered brain damage, 19 babies were stillborn, and 15 deaths involving mothers and babies occurred.

The Trust is currently under review and in May 2022, Donna Ockenden, a Senior Midwife who led an inquiry into maternity failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals maternity department, was asked to chair a review at Nottingham. This will no doubt make for harrowing reading on publication.

Contact us

For further information about birth injury claims and obstetrics negligence claims, please call Arti Shah on  0330 460 6739 or email arti.shah@fieldfisher.com.
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