Birth negligence claim settled for £3 million following brain injury at birth

Our client

Jacob* was injured at birth when during a cesarean section delivery the supply of oxygen to his brain was temporarily stopped. As a result he suffered a hypoxic ischaemic brain injury, which resulted in spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Jacob has difficulty with precise muscle movements and will be dependent on others for the rest of his life.

Spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy is a condition that is often caused by a hypoxic ischaemic brain injury. It affects all four of a child’s limbs and means that child has an inability to relax their muscles and a decreased range of movement. Children with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy may also suffer from learning difficulties.

The result

Our cerebral palsy solicitors secured £3 million compensation for Jacob and his family for his hypoxic ischaemic brain injury. Jacob’s £3 million birth injury claim compensation was paid on a lump sum basis after an offer of £2.3 million was rejected on Jacob’s family’s behalf by our cerebral palsy solicitors.

The claims process

When our birth injury claim solicitors were first approached in 2000 we began looking at what happened to Jacob during his birth in 1999. This included reviewing the medical reports for Jacob and his mum to work out how the hypoxic ischaemic brain injury that Jacob sustained could have been avoided. Our specialist cerebral palsy solicitors obtained medical reports from numerous experts providing their opinion on Jacob’s birth injury claim and what went wrong during his birth.

Once our cerebral palsy solicitors had reviewed Jacob’s birth injury claim we contacted the hospital on behalf of Jacob and his family, setting out what had happened during his birth and how we believed negligence had taken place to cause the hypoxic ischaemic brain injury that was responsible for his quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

Did the hospital admit fault?

In 2004, the hospital admitted full liability for Jacob’s hypoxic ischaemic brain injury and his spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

How was the case funded?

Legal aid was granted and there was no cost to Jacob or his family in making their quadriplegic cerebral palsy claim.

The future for Jacob

Thanks to the compensation for his quadriplegic cerebral palsy secured by our cerebral palsy solicitors, Jacob and his family have the peace of mind of knowing that his needs can be met on an ongoing basis.

*All names have been changed for client privacy.