Medical errors during birth at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham

Monday, 05 January 2009 00:00

S v WEST MIDLANDS STRATEGIC HEALTH AUTHORITY

The mother of a child left with a disabled left arm as a result of the management of her birth has today attended court to finalise the long battle in a claim for compensation.

The claimant's mother, who does not wish to be named, brought this action after the child's birth in 1994 at the Queen Elizabeth Maternity Hospital, Birmingham. During the course of the birth, after her head was delivered, the child's shoulders became stuck behind her mother's pubic bone, an occurrence known as a shoulder dystocia. It was alleged that the child's mother should have been offered a caesarean section as the risk of shoulder dystocia occurring was foreseeable. It was also alleged that during the delivery itself the hospital staff did not follow the correct procedure to overcome the shoulder dystocia, and as a result the nerves in the child's neck were stretched resulting in an Erb's palsy (brachial plexus palsy) of the left arm.

The child has undergone four surgical procedures to try to improve her arm and shoulder function but she has been left with a left arm with restricted use, which means that normal everyday activities are difficult for her. It is likely that further surgery in the future will prove necessary.

Following negotiations between the child's solicitor, Clair Hemming of Tozers LLP in Exeter, and the solicitor for the hospital, an agreement was reached on a monetary settlement. Today (8 January 2009) at the Royal Courts of Justice, Master Yoxall approved the settlement.

Tozers are instructed in a large number of claims concerning brachial plexus palsy. The child's mother 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.

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

Clair Hemming specialises in personal injury and clinical negligence law and can be contacted on 01392 667692 or email 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 Law Society's Clinical Negligence Panel, the Exeter Medico Legal Society 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