Teen receives medical negligence payout
It has been revealed that a 13-year-old girl has been awarded £5.6 million in a compensation claim, after she suffered from medical negligence.
The girl received severe personal injury at birth and suffered from breathing difficulties, and later developed fits whilst in the Special Care Baby Unit.
Her development was delayed and she was later diagnosed as having spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. As a result she suffers from severely delayed mental development and learning difficulties.
The doctors have been blamed for the clinical blunder because they failed to inform the mother that, due to a previous birth which involved caesarean delivery, there was a risk of rupture of the womb should she have a subsequent labour and vaginal delivery. If she had been warned of the hazards, then she would have chosen to opt for a different delivery method.
The family’s injury lawyer commented: “The amount of money she has received seems huge, but it is required to pay for the care and equipment (she) will need for the rest of her life. Her family would prefer that she had never needed to make this claim and was a normal 13 year old girl looking forward to her future as she should have been. The award will provide security for her for the rest of her life.”
Updated on 02/02/2010