Clare Langford, a partner in the medical negligence team at Higgs LLP, has successfully secured a substantial seven figure settlement in a birth injury claim.
Case background
*Max (a protected party proceeding through his mother and Litigation Friend) was born in the early 2000's. The initial stages of his mother's pregnancy with Max proceeded uneventfully, and the antenatal scans that she received did not reveal any abnormalities with Max's growth or development.
However, at approximately 27 weeks of gestation, in the early hours of the morning, Max’s mother started to experience fresh bleeding. She therefore attended the defendant trust for examination and monitoring. Max’s mother was admitted but then left without being checked or her observations being taken until the following morning.
Max’s mother began to experience regular abdominal pains, which later transpired to be contractions. Max’s mother was advised that she was not in active labour; however, shortly after this, she suffered spontaneous rupture of the membranes, and Max was born immediately. Unfortunately, Max was in respiratory distress during and after birth and required intubation and ventilation before establishing spontaneous breathing.
Two days after Max was born, he suffered a right and left-sided bilateral intraventricular haemorrhage (bleed on the brain) and as a result was diagnosed with severe hemiplegia, cerebral palsy and global development delay.
Summary of the liability case
It was our case that the treating clinicians at the defendant trust failed to properly consider Max’s mother’s history of fresh bleeding as opposed to the “spotting” which was recorded in her medical notes.
Due to this failure, there was an incorrect diagnosis made of cervical erosion, and as a result, there was a failure to provide Max’s mother with the appropriate steroids and tocolytics (medication which suppresses labour).
It was therefore our case that suppressing labour for 48 hours and administering steroids would have allowed Max to mature before delivery, which would have prevented the intraventricular haemorrhage (bleed in the brain) and resulting damage.
Birth injury settlement
Max’s case was listed for a six-day liability trial at The Royal Courts of Justice, London, in 2025. However, after proactive discussions with our opponent, a settlement was negotiated shortly before trial. Max’s parents were delighted with the outcome and comforted by the knowledge that it would guarantee Max a stable, financially secure future.
As Max is a protected party, the settlement needed to be approved by the High Court. The Court approved the settlement sum, which will now be invested and managed to ensure longevity of the funds for Max and to provide access to private therapies, equipment, suitable accommodation and a care package.
Clare instructed John Coughlan KC of No5 Chambers on behalf of Max.
