We represented the mother and the baby in a still born maternity case brought against United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
The baby was born dead after a long labour. The mother was not made aware of the baby’s difficulties and was left unattended for 11 hours (despite one registrar noting that the baby’s heartbeat was critical and that the baby’s presentation was unusual). Baby N was born dead by C section.
In the aftermath, the parents were unsupported by the hospital with one physician saying, “the baby would have been born dead anyway”.
The case came to us 2 weeks before the limitation period was due to expire. During all of the intervening time, mum had psychiatric and medical complications. Both parents believed it was their fault that their daughter had died and so had no more children in case the same fate befell the next child
The parents agreed to a post mortem which revealed that the baby had effectively suffocated in the birth canal. Our medical expert indicated that the baby had died of unnatural causes and that if the hospital had intervened when the alarm was first raised Natalia would have been born alive. This knowledge enabled the parents to risk having another child, a baby girl born healthily. The hospital finally admitted liability and the case was settled with significant damages.
The family used some of the award to set up a not-for-profit charity which raises money to help pay for the funeral expenses and headstones for other families dealing with a still born child.
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