Hospital paid out £17m for negligence cases causing cerebral palsy
A DERBYSHIRE hospital has paid out millions in damages due to failings leading to cerebral palsy. Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has paid £17 million during the last decade over negligence cases which have caused the lifelong condition.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request showed that between the financial years 2010/11 and 2020/21, the trust settled five clinical negligence claims related to cerebral palsy, paying out more than
£17 million in damages – an average of £3.5 million per case – and £2 million in legal fees. The data also revealed that nationally almost one in 12 cerebral palsy cases could have been avoided, with trusts paying out a total of £4.3 billion in damages.
With no available cure, cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that affects movement and co-ordination. Those living with the condition may face movement, walking and speech difficulties, learning disabilities, cognitive impairments, hearing or vision loss, epilepsy, spinal deformities and joint problems, requiring ongoing physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy and medication.
Robert Rose, head of clinical negligence at Lime Solicitors, the company responsible for the FOI request, said: “One of the main causes of cerebral palsy is hypoxic brain injury during childbirth, which is where a baby’s brain gets starved of oxygen. Sometimes, this cannot be prevented or it is impossible to work out what caused the child’s injuries.”
Mr Rose went on to say how negligent mistakes by healthcare professionals can also lead to a child sustaining a hypoxic brain injury.
He said: “Errors can include delayed delivery, birth injuries, failing to respond to the umbilical cord being wrapped around a baby’s neck, and missing signs of foetal distress, such as meconium.
“Our NHS is fantastic. While the first duty of a healthcare system is to do no harm, sometimes things do go wrong and care falls below medical standards. Clinical negligence claims play a critical role in safeguarding patients against negligent treatment. In all my cases, clients are predominantly seeking to establish the truth, an apology and to prevent healthcare professionals from making the same mistakes in the future.
“Negligent injuries resulting in cerebral palsy should not take place and we know the lessons that should have been learned, but unfortunately time and time again, the same mistakes are made.
“Regrettably, I have seen many of these mistakes before and we will look to obtain the appropriate expert evidence to guide the family through the complex legal process as arrangements are put in place to assist their child.”
Dr Hal Spencer, interim chief executive at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, said: “Whilst we are not able to comment on individual cases, we take our responsibility to provide safe, high standards of care seriously. When we believe that this has not been the case, our priority will also be to conduct a thorough, open and transparent investigation.
“If we find that our care was negligent, it is our responsibility to address the issue - and offer an apology as well as our full support to the patient, their families and NHS Resolution. We aim to provide a timely outcome that both sides agree on.”