Claire Horton specialist clinical negligence solicitor who lives and works in Manchester assisted our client to bring a claim.

Our client who was born in 1986, brought a claim for compensation since he believed that the hospital had been negligent at his birth at Withington Hospital, Manchester.

During delivery as his trunk was rotated to assist with delivery of his arms, his head was moved into a position at 180˚ rotation to its body.  His trunk was then left suspended but unsupported to assist the delivery of the head, without the 180˚ turn being appreciated by the trainee and senior obstetrician responsible for the delivery.

We said that the 180˚ twist on the baby’s head to its trunk should have been appreciated because of abnormalities in the wrinkles on the back of his neck.  The twist would have been more obvious if the surgeon had also checked with his fingers, having seen the wrinkle, to ascertain the true position of the head.  We said the baby was actually delivered with his head rotated through 180˚ to his neck and that the torsion and traction on the neck resulting from this led to damage to the carotid artery which caused an embolus or emboli (blood clot or clots) to travel up into the baby’s brain causing damage to the brain in the form of a stroke.

As our client grew older, it became apparent that he suffered from a weakness to his right side and therefore had to become a left hander, although he probably would have been right handed otherwise.  He had weakness in his hand and foot which led to some difficulties of movement.  He also has moderate learning difficulties which when combined with his physical disability, meant that it was difficult for him to obtain work as an adult and meant that he will needed care and support in managing his affairs throughout his life.

We took over this case from another firm.  The first solicitors who acted in this case investigated the case for over 16 years, but Claire Horton took over the conduct of the case and carried on further research and developed a team of medical advisors.  The case recently settled with compensation of £800,000.00 being obtained. This represents a significant percentage of the damages that our client could have received at trial if the matter had not settled beforehand.  This was a very good settlement because the case could have lost at trial because of the very difficult issues in the case.  This case medically represented one of the most technically difficult cases that Claire Horton, who handled it has experienced.

This case was brought with the help of Legal Aid.  The support of the Community Legal Services Commission was invaluable in helping pay for the medical evidence needed in this case. 

Further information:

Claire Horton, Solicitor
John Pickering and Partners LLP
Old Exchange Buildings
St Ann’s Passage                                                     
29/31 King Street
Manchester M2 6B

Freephone:    0808 144 0957
Fax:                0161 834 1505

E-mail:           hort@johnpickering.co.uk
Website:        www.johnpickering.co.uk

Notes

John Pickering and Partners LLP

About Us

Our clients are people who have suffered injury as a result of a medical accident in the UK.  We are clinical and medical negligence solicitors.  We handle negligence claims against hospitals, GP’s and other medical practitioners for clients across the UK. 

We try to obtain maximum amounts of compensation. 

We are committed to providing public funding (previously known as Legal Aid) and have a franchise from the Community Legal Services Commission.  This means that they have looked at the firm carefully and approved of the way we work.  They consider that we are medical negligence claims specialists.  They trust us to handle medical accident claims properly. 

If you are not eligible for public funding, we can offer a Conditional Fee Agreement, also known as a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement with insurance.  We shall check the best method of funding your claim. 

All 3 of our offices (Liverpool, Manchester and Halifax) are accredited by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. 

Claire Horton is an experienced clinical negligence solicitor who is based in our Manchester office.  She continues to practice as an independent funding ajudicator for the Legal Services Commission and acts on a pro-bono basis for the AvMA helpline.

For further advice on medical negligence in Liverpool please also contact Rachel Donovan and for Halifax contact Ruth Davies, who are both experienced in the field of clinical negligence.

We provide free initial advice to people seeking information about a potential clinical negligence claim. 

If you need advice about a clinical negligence claim, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.