Northern Ireland-based Western Health and Social Care Trust is to pay compensation of nearly £21 million to the family of a baby that suffered brain damage during an emergency caesarean.
The young girl, who now has to spend her life in a wheelchair, was left with cerebral palsy and brain damage from an emergency C-section.
Solicitor of the 12-year-old girl’s family, Eoin Kearney, has said that the Western Trust prolonged the family’s ordeal agony as it refused to admit fusing to admit full liability until the case was about to reach court.
The Western Trust made a statement to say: “We are very sorry for the failings in the care provided to this family and respectfully acknowledge the settlement that was reached, which will provide lifetime care.”
Speaking to BBC News NI, Kearney stated: “As is unfortunately all too common in these types of cases, this did not include any acceptance that the negligence caused the child to suffer brain damage.
“The negligence arose out of a delay on the doctors’ part in moving to an emergency Caesarean section when serious complications arose during the labour.
“Those complications were the child’s heart rate dropping significantly and, at that stage, should have alert the doctors to the need to take evasive action which, unfortunately in this case, was delayed by around 15 minutes.
“The medical expert we engaged gave an opinion that had 15 minutes’ delay not taken place, this child would not have suffered any brain damage.
“Knowing the parents well as I do at this stage, I can say undoubtedly that the biggest moment for them was when the trust admitted full liability because that was a formal acknowledgement that their daughter had been wronged and that some justice had finally been achieved on her behalf.”
According to Kearny, the compensation will be paid to the family in instalments over the course of the girl’s life.
The case is thought to be one of the biggest medical negligence claims in Northern Ireland.
