Family’s £6m award over hospital errors

AN Oldham family has won a £6 million payout after their son was left permanently disabled following a ‘catalogue of errors’ during his birth.

A mismanaged labour at the Royal Blackburn Hospital in 2001 saw the boy, known as Child A, suffering from asphyxia which led to him developing cerebral palsy and severe disabilities.

Nine years on, the boy has been awarded £6 million in compensation after taking East Lancashire Hospital’s NHS trust to court.

He will require full-time care for the rest of his life as his intellectual function and all four limbs were affected by the birth trauma.

It has been calculated that care alone will cost more than £185,000 a year during his adult life. The compensation package has therefore been designed to last his lifetime.

The boy’s father said: “A financial award can never compensate you for what happened but it does mean our son has some assurance for his long term care which is a great load off our minds.

“In the circumstances, it is the best thing that could have happened. Now our son can be given the care he needs for the rest of his life.”

Speaking about the labour, the boy’s mother, who also works for the NHS, said: “The midwife kept coming and going and I felt there was clearly something wrong.

“The midwife failed to recognise the obvious signs of my baby’s distress and relied on a junior doctor to assist which only further worsened his condition.

“I was later told by a senior consultant that he would have done things very differently.

“Seeing the other mums taking their babies home while I was left behind knowing my first baby nearly died due to an avoidable mistake was hard to take.”

The boy’s disabilities could have been avoided had the midwife and obstetrician correctly interpreted the baby’s vital signs.

The boy’s father added: “The last nine years have been a terribly stressful period for our whole family.

“The hospital denied responsibility for the injuries until March this year, it was horrendous. Until only two years ago we were getting letters from the NHS Trust’s solicitors telling us that the damage was nothing to do with them.”

The parents sought the help of clinical negligence solicitor John Pollitt from Oldham law firm Pearson Hinchliffe.

Mr Pollitt said: “The legal battle has taken over seven years in total following a series of denials by the NHS Trust concerned.

“But now I am glad to say we have a settlement that allows this family to move on and look to the future with a degree of hope.

“Such high awards of damages, although rare, are made only when the court determines that the seriousness of the injuries, impact on the victim and cost of ongoing medical care and equipment warrant them.

“The compensation will have to last for the whole of the child’s life and pay for a care package which can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds every year.”