Parents awarded compensation after son born with cerebral palsy after hospital error
A mother whose son was starved of oxygen at birth leaving him disabled has been granted compensation to pay for his care.
Sarah Collier and her husband Nigel said they were left with no option but to take legal action after their son Joel was born with cerebral palsy following more than an hour of distress during his birth. They battled for help for the eight-year-old but were left frustrated by the lack of support from social services, which meant they had to fight for everything they needed.
Speaking after the compensation order, they spoke out about the lack of state support.
Former midwife Sarah, 40, had enjoyed a trouble-free pregnancy with Joel but the family’s life was turned upside down when his heart rate dropped and the youngster had to be delivered using forceps during his birth at Gateshead’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was resuscitated after birth and tests revealed he had been starved of oxygen. Now Joel needs round-the-clock care.
Nigel, 40, said: “I am not convinced that lessons are being learned and consequently tragedies like the one my family has to live with day after day will continue to happen. At first we didn’t want to take action, but after giving the state a chance to help us and make good their error, it gradually became clear just how poor the infrastructure of support was. We faced constant battles for even the smallest amount of support for Joel and found that what we managed to ‘win’ one day could be easily withdrawn the next, so we were left with no choice. Joel is our primary concern and we simply had to seek help to make the immediate life of our son more bearable and to secure the best possible future for him.”
The couple said they had always strongly suspected that the complications during birth were the reason for Joel’s condition, but were reluctant to make a legal claim for compensation.
However, Mr Collier said the difficulties of raising a child with a disability combined with the complexities of securing state support had left the family from Hobson, Burnopfield, County Durham, with little choice.
Mr Collier added: “I would strongly advise anyone agonising, as we did, to go ahead with a claim, in order to access the vital support and resources needed to make life as ‘normal’ as it could be, had their child been born healthy and without mistakes. In a sense we are lucky in that we had ‘a case’. There are thousands of families in similar situations through nobody’s fault, as cerebral palsy can occur naturally. What is the future for those families? I think at best they will always, as we did, lurch from one confrontation, frustration and disappointment to another because of inadequate support, inadequate equipment and inadequate facilities.”
A spokeswoman for Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust said: “Having investigated the circumstances relating to Joel’s birth, Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust admitted liability at an early stage. We are pleased that a settlement, which has been approved by the court, has been reached and we hope that it will go some way towards helping Joel with his disabilities in the future.”
Specialist cerebral palsy lawyer Susan Brown from Reading based law firm Boyes Turner said: "This case highlights the reason why most parents contact us to investigate a claim for their child with cerebral palsy. Obtaining adequate provision for their child's specialist needs is a constant battle and often it is not possible to secure provision at all, leaving parents struggling to provide for those needs alone."
If your child has cerebral palsy or suffered severe birth injury contacts our specialist cerebral palsy lawyers 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.
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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