Six figure settlement secured for claimant that suffered Erb’s Palsy injury

We also received an apology from the hospital trust, Ashford & St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust who admitted that negligent force was applied to our client’s head and neck by the midwife in attempting to deliver our client after shoulder dystocia was noted.

Our client was a large baby, and this was identified prior to her birth at a 36-week growth scan. During the labour, shoulder dystocia was noted (where the baby’s shoulder gets caught under the mother’s pubic bone) but unfortunately the midwife did not immediately call for help to deal with what is a medical emergency.  An episiotomy was performed but delivery of our client was not achieved and appropriate manoeuvres to release the shoulder were not used.  Traction (pulling) was used instead to try and assist with the delivery but our client was stuck.

When eventually the Emergency buzzer was activated and with the help of further midwives and an obstetrician, our client’s posterior arm was relieved and our client was born, with her body being delivered some considerable time after the head was delivered. Our client weighed 4.16kg at birth and was sadly diagnosed with a right sided Erb’s palsy.  She was referred for physiotherapy and whilst she was not a candidate for nerve surgery she has made an incomplete recovery from the injury and her reduced function is now permanent.

When we investigated the claim, the hospital notes were so poor and the timed entries so inconsistent it was difficult to piece together a true timeline of events. Needless to say the delivery was considerably longer than should have been the case and was not managed at all appropriately in the context of a recognised shoulder dystocia.

Our experts were critical of the failure to record our client’s mother as a “high risk” patient on the grounds of her raised BMI and whilst recognising that there may be need for additional personnel if shoulder dystocia occurred, they failed to ensure that those additional people were available.  There was also a failure to perform recognised manoeuvres and in particular the McRoberts position which has a 90% success rate in relieving shoulder dystocia and avoiding a brachial plexus injury.  It was our expert’s opinion that had these manoeuvres been performed then it is more likely than not that our client’s injury would have been avoided.

After submitting our client’s allegations to the Trust responsible for her delivery, a response was eventually received which admitted that as a result of their negligence our client had sustained a brachial plexus injury affecting her right shoulder/arm.

Once the liability aspect of the case had been settled we then proceeded to investigate the value of the claim for our client. This involved instructing appropriate experts to assess her current condition and the long term impact her Erb’s palsy will have on her both physically and mentally and in terms of her ability to live an independent life. We obtained reports from a Consultant peripheral nerve surgeon, a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist (to deal with past and future care, assistance and equipment needs) and a paediatric psychologist regarding her mental health needs in terms of dealing with her injury and facing up to what that entails both now and in the future, particular at key points of change in her life. All these reports were necessary so as to ensure that she would be, so far as possible and practical, able to be put back in the position she would have been but for the negligence, which is what compensation is designed to do.

Following a settlement meeting and after some negotiations, agreement was reached for compensation of £940,000.

We, and our client’s family, are delighted that we have brought the claim to a satisfactory conclusion for many reasons.  Settling liability itself was a hugely emotional moment for our client’s mum who had blamed herself, completely unnecessarily, for many years for her daughter’s injury.  She felt responsibility generally as her mother and also due to thoughtless comments by the hospital staff following the birth.  She described it as a huge weight having been lifted and allowed her some measure of closure.

The compensation will help to provide our client with financial security throughout her life when invested and looked after appropriately.  It will mean she can obtain physiotherapy, or pay for help when she needs it, and will allow her to have the independence and control over her life with her disability which she might otherwise not have had.

Erb’s palsy cases can be complex and technical, requiring specialist medical-legal knowledge to pursue. If you believe that you or your child may have an Erb’s palsy case please do contact us, we would be only too happy to talk it through with you without any charge or obligation.