Family of tetraplegic cerebral palsy sufferer secures over £6 million in compensation
The family of a girl who suffers from tetraplegic cerebral palsy has been awarded in excess of £6 million in compensation.
Stephanie Heanue, who is now 11 years old, developed the condition as a result of mistakes made during her birth at Colchester General Hospital.
Staff at the medical centre had been monitoring Stephanie's heartbeat using a cardiotocograph (CTG) but they stopped an hour before she was born.
The CTG had shown abnormalities and medics had requested a review. However, no such review took place. If the doctor had reviewed the trace, the review would have resulted in an emergency caesarean section being performed. Delivery just 10 minutes earlier would probably have avoided Stephanie's brain damage.
Stephanie, who lives in Colchester, Essex now suffers from dystonic athetoid tetraplegic cerebral palsy and will need 24hr care and assistance for the rest of her life.
Her mother, Linda Heanue, said: "Stephanie was in distress for an hour and ten minutes before she was born. It was extremely busy that night and there was only one midwife who wasn't in full attendance. She called for assistance but it never came."
The settlement was approved at a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on 2 June 2009. The settlement formed a lump sum of £2.25million plus annual payments of £112k increasing to £170k as Stephanie gets older. The settlement capitalised at just over £6 million in compensation.
Around one in every 400 children in the UK is born with some form of cerebral palsy, figures cited by the NHS suggest.
Specialist cerebral palsy solicitor Susan Brown from Reading based law firm Boyes Turner said: "Frequently it is the failure to adequately monitor the fetal heart rate during labour or recognise and act upon abnormalities in the fetal heart rate trace that result in successful claims for children with cerebral palsy."
If your child has cerebral palsy or suffered severe birth injury contacts our specialist cerebral palsy solicitors who can help you claim compensation to secure their future care
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.
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