£3.6 million compensation for child with cerebral palsy caused by delayed diagnosis of neonatal meningitis

Boyes Turner’s brain injury lawyers secured a £3.6 million settlement for a child who suffered permanent injury to his brain as a result of a delayed diagnosis of infection in the neonatal period following his birth. 

The obstetric and neonatal staff at the hospital where he was born failed to recognise that the baby was showing signs of infection which needed antibiotic treatment.  Their failure to recognise signs of infection and delay in treating his condition led to permanent brain damage from meningitis. 

Meningitis means inflammation of the meninges – the protective membrane which surrounds the brain. The inflammation occurs in response to infection and can very quickly cause damage to the brain. Newborn babies are particularly vulnerable to permanent injury from infection as their immune systems are not yet developed. Early-onset neonatal infection can occur when they are exposed to common bacteria, such as group B strep, during the birth process, or maternal infection during pregnancy. Signs of neonatal infection must be treated with antibiotics without delay to avoid the baby suffering permanent injury. In this case, delays in recognising and treating the baby’s infection led to severe brain injury. The baby was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. 

Our brain injury team secured an admission of liability from the hospital which accepted that their staff’s failure to identify and treat our client’s infection caused our client’s cerebral palsy. 

As soon as liability was admitted, we were able to obtain a substantial interim payment (an early part payment of damages whilst the case is ongoing) for our client. This enabled us to help the family buy and adapt a house to meet their injured child’s immediate needs and pay for help with essential care while we worked with experts to value the claim. A final compensation settlement of £3.6 million was agreed and approved by the court, without the need for a trial. 

If you are caring for a child with cerebral palsy or neurological disability caused by mistakes in medical care, and you would like to find out more about making a claim, contact us by email at cerebralpalsy@boyesturner.com.