Significant cerebral palsy compensation payout for girl born at Watford General Hospital
A five-year-old girl from St Albans left severely disabled because of alleged failings at birth has been awarded a seven figure payout in damages.
Terminally ill Rosie Snell was born at Watford General Hospital in October 2004 but was left needing round-the-clock care after oxygen starvation in the womb left her with cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy claim
On behalf of her daughter, Joanne Snell took legal action against West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust and at London’s High Court, the trust, while still denying blame, settled the issue of liability with a multi-million pound compensation package.
Following the hearing, Joanne said: "We are relieved that this is all over and that Rosie can get the best possible care to extend her short life. She is terminally ill and I think the care I have managed to give her up until now has kept her here. I don't want people to think we are lucky, being given this amount of money. It's a tragic story and I would rather be living in a little cardboard box and have two healthy children than go through what I have been through. No amount of money will ever make up for my loss of a healthy child. I would give every penny back to have a healthy and happy daughter running around."
Joanne and father Richard, who are now separated but also have a six-year-old son, Bradley, began their fight for compensation to provide care for Rosie after the trust denied liability for Rosie's injuries in 2004.
The family's solicitor said: "One of the reasons the family brought this case was to ensure that Rosie has a quality of life but also to ensure that lessons are learned and that this doesn't happen to any other family." She added: "The hospital has expressed its regret in court today that this incident happened in that Rosie wasn't delivered at the time she should have been."
Rosie attends Watling View School in St Albans, which caters for two to 19-year-olds with severe learning difficulties, five mornings a week where Joanne says she is "doing really well".
Cerebral palsy compensation settlement
The settlement will cover the costs of Rosie's care and accommodation throughout her life. Joanne added: "I'm relieved my daughter will receive the care that she requires. This will ensure that she can have the best possible therapies we can give her and equipment that she needs to keep her strong. We can now give her all the love and care that she deserves in the short life that she has been given."
Eileen Whitehouse, spokeswoman for West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust said: "Although liability was not accepted by the trust for Rosie’s injuries, a compensation package has been agreed between the parties and the trust is pleased that this has been approved by the court. The trust hopes that this settlement will make life easier for Rosie and her family and would like to offer them best wishes for the future."
Specialist cerebral palsy solicitor Susan Brown from Reading based law firm Boyes Turner said “ Our team of specialst cerebral palsy claims lawyers here at Boyes Turner deals with many cases just like Rosie’s where failures to adequately monitor a baby during labour result in delays in delivery and brain injury. The sums of compensation awarded always seem a lot but children like Rosie need 24 hour a day specialised care packages and the cost of funding these is very considerable over a lifetime. Usually compensation for care is paid on an annual basis throughout the lifetime of the child/young adult and the annual payments end when the child dies.”
Boyes Turner is top ranked for its cerebral palsy and medical negligence work by the legal industry's leading directory.
Click here to read about the cerebral palsy claims we have been involved with.
Consistent with our policy when giving comment and advice on a non-specific basis, we cannot assume legal responsibility for the accuracy of any particular statement. In the case of specific problems we recommend that professional advice be sought.
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