F v North Wales NHS Trust - injury sustained during birth

Monday, 16 February 2009 00:00

The parents of a child left with a disabled right arm as a result of the management of her birth have today attended court to finalise their claim for compensation.

The family, who do not wish to be named, brought this action after the child's birth in 1994. During the course of the birth it would seem that the child's shoulders became stuck behind her mother's pubic bone after her head was delivered. It was alleged that the delivering hospital staff did not employ the standard manoeuvres to overcome this problem and as a result the nerves in the child's neck were stretched resulting in an Erb's palsy (brachial plexus palsy) of the right arm. Erb's Palsy can leave sufferers with a permanent disability and in severe cases, such as this, the injured limb is of little or no practical use to the sufferer. Liability for these injuries was not admitted by the hospital.

Following negotiations between the child's legal team, Tozers LLP solicitors in Exeter and barrister, Christopher Kemp, and the representatives for the hospital, an agreement was reached on a monetary settlement for a six figure sum. Today (16 February 2009) at the Royal Courts of Justice, the settlement was approved.

The child and her family are now looking forward to putting the claim behind them.