If your newborn baby's brain was injured by hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) during their hospital care in the days after their birth, they may be able to claim compensation. What is neonatal hypoglycaemia? Hypoglycaemia means low blood sugar (also known as blood glucose). When a newborn baby’s blood sugar drops below safe levels, this is known as neonatal hypoglycaemia. Neonatal hypoglycaemia is common but becomes dangerous if it is untreated, causing permanent brain injury and developmental disability. If a baby suffers neurodevelopmental disability as a result of incorrect treatment of hypoglycaemia, they may be entitled to claim compensation. Who is at risk of neonatal hypoglycaemia? Newborn babies all have some risk of hypoglycaemia until they have developed a regular feeding pattern. It can take time for newborn babies to settle into a regular feeding routine and some babies need help to maintain healthy blood glucose levels in their first few days of life. For this reason, it is part of the post-natal midwives’ job to ensure that the baby is receiving enough milk. In many hospitals it is routine for newborn babies’ blood sugar to be measured by a heel-prick blood test, usually carried out before their second feed within two to four hours after birth, and then repeated until the baby’s blood sugar levels are stable. This test should always be carried out for babies who are known to be at increased risk of hypoglycaemia. Babies have a higher risk of hypoglycaemia when: they weigh less than the standard threshold level of 2.5kg at birth; their mother has diabetes; they are small for dates or have intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR). Any baby (of any birthweight) who is not feeding properly may be at risk of hypoglycaemia: if they don’t wake up for feeds; if they don’t suck properly during feeding; if they demand feeding very frequently because they are not getting enough food at each feed. Can neonatal hypoglycaemia be treated? Neonatal hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) can be corrected if action is taken quickly to feed the baby. Depending on how well the baby feeds, their blood sugar may be brought back up by breastfeeding if that provides enough milk, or by expressed breastmilk or formula milk. Some babies’ hypoglycaemia may need to be corrected by an intravenous (IV) glucose drip. If neonatal hypoglycaemia becomes severe or is left untreated, the baby’s condition will deteriorate, and they will show other signs of illness, such as hypothermia (low body temperature), floppiness, fitting or jitteriness, infection or respiratory (breathing) difficulties. Neonatal hypoglycaemia with abnormal clinical signs must be treated as a medical emergency requiring immediate action to avoid permanent brain injury and severe neurodevelopmental disability. Hypoglycaemia can also occur alongside and in combination with other serious conditions. What midwife and medical mistakes lead to neonatal hypoglycaemia brain injury claims? According to the NHS defence organisation, NHS Resolution, neonatal hypoglycaemia brain injury claims commonly involve failure by midwives, doctors and other clinicians to act on maternal concerns about their babies’ abnormal feeding behaviour, missing a vital opportunity to prevent or correct hypoglycaemia before permanent damage is done to the infant’s brain. Common negligent mistakes include: failing to take blood glucose tests; delays in obtaining blood glucose test results; delays in taking action on a low blood glucose result; delays in referring babies to the paediatrician (child specialist doctor) when concerns are identified; delays in admitting babies diagnosed with significant hypoglycaemia to the neonatal unit (NNU); delayed or insufficient administration of IV glucose on the NNU; delayed attendance by the paediatrician when called by the midwife to review; failing to advise the mother properly (safety-netting) when the baby is discharged home. Unlike disability from HIE or traumatic birth injury, neurodevelopmental disability from neonatal hypoglycaemia might not be obvious to the parents in the infant’s early childhood. Neurodevelopmental disability from hypoglycaemia might be disregarded or downplayed in the child’s early years, with the impact of their injury only becoming evident later when they struggle to cope at school. NHS Resolution have acknowledged that it is likely that more babies have been harmed by hypoglycaemia care errors than have been reported by hospitals. Medical negligence claims for neonatal brain injury caused by hypoglycaemia Boyes Turner’s specialist neonatal brain injury solicitors understand hypoglycaemia negligence and the disability that it causes. We are experienced in obtaining compensation for children and teenagers whose neurological disability was caused by incorrect neonatal care. We aim for early admissions of liability and then work with experts to assess the full impact of the injury on the individual’s mobility, intellect, education, work and independence, to ensure that our client is properly compensated. Our special educational needs (SEN) team can also help families secure educational support and the best school placements for children affected by neonatal brain injury. Our successful settlements in cases involving neonatal hypoglycaemia include: settlement exceeding £24million in a neonatal hypoglycaemia claim for a teenager; settlement providing a £3.1 million lump sum plus lifelong PPO payments of up to £133,250pa for our client, which included a £1million interim payment to pay for a suitable home and a behaviour management programme during the claim. If your child has cerebral palsy or neurodevelopmental disability as a result of medical negligence, or you have been contacted by HSSIB/MNSI or NHS Resolution, you can talk to a solicitor, free and confidentially, for advice about how to respond or make a claim by contacting us.
