Medical errors during birth at Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust

Thursday, 22 January 2009 00:00

The mother of Patsy Field, a fourteen year old Orpington child, who was left with a disabled right arm as a result of the management of her birth, has attended court to finalise the long battle in a claim for compensation.

Mrs Field brought this action after Patsy's birth in 1994 at the Lewisham Hospital. During the course of the birth, after her head was delivered, Patsy's shoulders became stuck behind her mother's pubic bone, an occurrence known as a shoulder dystocia. It was admitted by the Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust that the hospital staff did not follow the correct procedure to overcome the shoulder dystocia, and instead applied excessive force to deliver the child. As a result the nerves in the child's neck which conduct signals from the spine to the shoulder, arm and hand, were damaged resulting in an Erb's palsy (brachial plexus palsy) of the right arm. As a consequence of the brachial plexus injury the child also developed a curvature of the spine.

Patsy has undergone surgery on two occasions to try to improve her arm and shoulder function but she has been left with a right arm with restricted use, which means that normal everyday activities are difficult for her.

Following negotiations between Patsy's solicitor, Clair Hemming of Tozers LLP in Exeter, and the solicitor for the hospital, an agreement was reached on a monetary settlement, four weeks before trial. The settlement was agreed on a provisional basis with the right reserved for the claimant to return to court for further damages in the event that her spinal curvature were to progress. Yesterday, 20 January 2009, at the Royal Courts of Justice, His Honour Mr Justice Wynn Williams approved the settlement.

Tozers LLP are instructed in a large number of claims concerning brachial plexus palsy. Mrs Field found support from the Erb's Palsy Group, a national organisation which provides help and information to children and adults with Erb's palsy, as well as to parents of injured children. Erb's palsy can leave sufferers with a permanent disability and in severe cases the injured limb is of little or no practical use to the sufferer.

Patsy and her family are now looking forward to putting their battle for compensation behind them and getting on with their lives.

Solicitor Clair Hemming specialises in personal injury and clinical negligence law and can be contacted on 01392 667692 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tozers LLP has gained a national reputation in this area of law, and is a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority's Clinical Negligence Panel, and AVMA, a charity which supports patients who have been victims of medical accidents.

More information on the Erb's palsy support group can be found at www.erbspalsygroup.co.uk