‘No money will ever replace Harriet. Nor would we have gone down this route had we been listened to, believed and heard’
£2.8M PAYOUT FOR PARENTS IN STILLBIRTH NEGLIGENCE CASE
THE parents of baby Harriet Hawkins who was stillborn have been awarded a £2.8m settlement.
Harriet Hawkins was stillborn at Nottingham City Hospital, after a five-day labour.
After being told that their first baby had died, it took another nine “horrific” hours before she was delivered.
Her parents, who both worked for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) at the time, said the death of their daughter caused psychological damage, flashbacks, nightmares and insomnia.
An independent report into the death had found that a host of factors contributed to the death, including a “lack of midwifery leadership,” “inadequate processes to support communication of clinical information”, a “poor safety culture”, and a “lack of governance in relation to reporting serious clinical incidents”.
Now, five-and-a-half years after Harriet’s death, a legal case has been settled with NUH for £2.8m, believed to be the largest pay out for a stillbirth clinical negligence case.
Mum Sarah Hawkins said: “I couldn’t grieve when NUH chose to say Harriet’s death was caused by an infection, rather than their own failures.
“We had to keep Harriet’s body in the mortuary for two years so we could keep her as ‘evidence.’
“Time after time families are contacting us, and every single time I get contacted my heart sinks.”
She added: “No money will ever replace Harriet. Nor would we have gone down this route had we been listened to, believed and heard.”
The independent report found there was a “lack of midwifery and obstetric leadership and team working”.
After the publication of the report, NUH apologised to the family and offered their sympathies.
Harriet was Jack and Sarah’s first baby.
Because Harriet was stillborn, there was no inquest into her death.
The couple – with the support of their solicitor, Janet Baker, of Switalskis Solicitors - embarked on their own investigations to examine the circumstances surrounding their daughter’s death.
Both Jack and Sarah, who worked for the trust at the time, said they suffered a significant psychiatric trauma because of the sudden shock of Harriet’s death and the circumstances in which it happened. Neither have been able to return to their jobs as a result.
Solicitors representing the couple believe it to be the largest pay out for a still birth clinical negligence claim case.
Jack Hawkins said: “We are, at long last, heard.
“As too are many other families, yet sadly because there has been no proper accountability for such a long time now, there are many more yet to come forward.”
Janet Baker, Switalskis Solicitors, said: “£2.8 million is the highest damages award in a stillbirth case, with legal fees for both sides the total cost to the NHS is likely to be over £3.5m.
“I believe that this is a cost which was unnecessary and could have been avoided if NUH had acknowledged responsibility for Harriet’s death straight away and had been open with Sarah and Jack.
“They had suffered a psychiatric injury because of the shocking and traumatic way in which Harriet died.
“But this was made significantly worse by the protracted failure of NUH to acknowledge responsibility for Harriet’s death and the psychiatric injuries caused to Sarah and Jack.”
The ruling follows the announcement of an independent inquiry into the maternity services at the trust, which has already paid out at least £91 million in compensation after more than 30 deaths and 46 brain injuries. Calls have been made for the Government to carry out a full public inquiry into maternity services in Nottingham.