Medical negligence claims against Southmead Hospital, Bristol

We represented the family of a child who suffered hypoxic ischaemic brain damage and a severe brachial plexus injury during delivery and subsequently was diagnosed with Erb’s palsy and cerebral palsy. The Defendant admitted that there was a failure to inform the Defendant’s mother that she had suffered from shoulder dystocia during the delivery of her first child and that, had they informed her, she would have undergone a caesarean section during the course of her second pregnancy which would have avoided an acute hypoxic brain injury. Following a Round Table Settlement Meeting, we were able to secure a settlement of £4,445,000 to reflect the Claimant’s pain and suffering and past and future care.

We acted on behalf of the parents of a child who was born with a congenital neurological condition. During a surgery to relieve his brain stem, complications arose which led to his tongue to swell and his tongue having to partially being removed. We made a claim alleging that the planning and performance of the surgery was substandard, but more importantly that the Trust had failed to contain or protect the tongue for many days after the procedure.
We were able to secure a compensation award for his physical injuries and disadvantage on the labour marked.

We represented the family of a child who suffered from a speech disability following multiple failures to diagnose his soft cleft palate. Whilst an initial admission of breach of duty was obtained. Causation was denied and we obtained expert evidence that confirmed that with competent care, the claimant would have been diagnosed earlier and would have received specialist feeding support and would have undergone cleft palate repair along with any other anomalies. As a result of the failure to diagnose, the Claimant subsequently also suffered mild hearing loss and a speech delay which was confirmed would also have been avoided but for the negligence. Following service of Particulars of Claim, we were able to secure a settlement award of £600,000 to reflect for the pain and suffering he experienced and past and future care

We acted on behalf of a 71-year old man in relation to the negligent treatment of a pressure Ulcer at Southmead Hospital in Bristol. We made a claim to reflect his severe and avoidable pain and discomfort during 8 months. We instructed an expert that found that whilst it was the case that the client was at high risk of pressure sores, his medical history demonstrated that his vulnerability to pressure sores was manageable with appropriate treatment and advice. We were able to secure a compensation award for our client.

We acted on behalf of the parents of an 18-year old man who passed away following critical errors during medical intervention. We represented the claimant at the inquest and investigations revealed that the Trust had made some critical errors including the misplacement of a tracheal tube into the oesophagus instead of the trachea, leading to severe oxygen deprivation and non-reversible brain damage. Following the inquest, we made the Defendant an offer and were able to secure a compensation award for our client.

We acted on behalf of a client who suffered from a ruptured uterus during childbirth. We made a claim that there had been a delay in diagnosis of retained products of conception (“RPOC”) which resulted in uterine perforation and rupture as well as a failure to obtain informed consent for a bilateral tubal ligation during the claimant’s second pregnancy. As a result of the tubal ligation, the Claimant was rendered sterile. After lengthy negotiations with the Defendant, we were able to secure a settlement award of £80,000 to reflect for the pain and suffering she has experienced, the care and assistance she required, loss of earnings and future losses which included the costs associated with completing a family.