Medical negligence news
28/07/2011

12-year-old with cerebral palsy awarded compensation

A 12-year-old girl has been awarded almost £5 million in clinical negligence compensation after suffering brain damage caused by complications at birth.

The girl, who was born in 1998 at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, suffered her birth injuries when staff failed to recognise that she had an abnormal heartbeat, despite using specialist equipment to show up the problem. The failure to act sooner during her delivery meant that the girl went for a prolonged period of time without oxygen which resulted in her sustaining injuries which have led to cerebral palsy.

The girl is now wheelchair bound, has to be fed through a tube and requires round the clock care for the rest of her life.

The Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board claim that the girl's injuries had already occurred by the time she should have been born and that the hospital is not to blame.

However, following a hearing at the Cardiff District Registry the health board agreed to pay clinical negligence compensation equivalent to almost £5 million over the girl's lifetime, the money will be used to help cover future medical and rehabilitation costs.