Accident and Emergency
This is often the first point of contact a patient will have with the NHS due to an illness or after an injury. The staff who practise in emergency medicine have skills in prevention, diagnosis and management.
Case reports
T -v- Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Trust
The Claimant was taken to the Accident & Emergency Department at Calderdale Royal Infirmary after being knocked down by a car
and was diagnosed as having an unstable short spiral fracture of the right femur. Her leg was placed in a splint which had to be re-applied because it was the wrong size. She was admitted to the children’s ward of the hospital. She remained in hospital but there was a failure to monitor the healing process of her leg in the splint, to the extent that poor union of the femur was achieved and her leg was bent when the bone was healed and had a boney protruberance. The bowing of the leg also entailed shortening of the femur and consequently the leg itself.
The case settled for £28,000.00 which included damages for care provided to the Claimant by her parents, the cost of some reconstructive surgery on her scarring and damages for her psychological distress, as well as for the leg injuries overall and for the otherwise would have been unnecessary.
Midwives At Greater Risk Of NHS Negligence
Thursday, 02 September 2010 08:42 | 
| 
| 
Midwives are more likely to be involved in clinical negligence cases than front line staff working in other areas, the latest NHS research suggests.
Negligence claims involving obstetrics formed nearly two thirds of the damages claimed against the NHS in 2008/2009 and they formed the biggest single category of claims made to the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) in that period – more than 20% of the total and they were responsible for 60% of the total costs claimed.
It was noted that the role of midwives was central to many of the obstetric claims brought to the authority and it has been highlighted by an NHSLA study carried out last year, that midwives misreading a cardiotocography (CTG) was a major factor in claims involving still births which seemed to be one of the most common reasons for claiming.
Rachel Donovan, Medical Negligence Solicitor at John Pickering and Partners LLP said “A CTG is a technical means of recording foetal heartbeat and uterine contractions of the mother. It is used during pregnancy but its main use is during labour to monitor the well being of the baby”.
John Mead, who is the NHS Litigation Authority Technical Claims Director, said at the Royal College of Midwives Annual Legal Birth Conference which was held in July 2010 that, “A CTG scan should have the foetal heart track and a maternal track. Midwives are trained but it is relatively easy sometimes to misinterpret a track. If there is anything that looks suspicious then obstetric help should be requested”.
Mr Mead presented statistics at the Conference showing 2.2% of all stillbirths as resulting in a negligence claim, with the NHSLA paying out in roughly three quarter of the cases.
The average value of claims involving stillbirth in 2008/2009 was £50,500. However, costs of cases where the baby is left with cerebral palsy due a midwife’s negligence can be up to six million.
Rachel Donovan said, “Traumatic births are far more common than people realise and although outcomes are varied, they are deeply distressing for the families involved. The Clinical Negligence team at John Pickering and Partners LLP handle a number of cases involving traumatic births, often where babies are left severely disabled. Following the birth of a child with a disability, huge levels of support are required to help the parents through, not only in dealing with the physical demand of a disabled child, but also in accessing services that may now be available to the family due to the child’s disability”.
BIRTH TRAUMA AWARENESS 2010
On 21st August 2010 the Birth Trauma Association held its Birth Trauma Awareness Day.
The Birth Trauma Association is a great source of comfort for those families who have largely been affected in this way, and Birth Trauma Awareness Day is one of the many ways to draw attention to the devastating impact it can have.
Birth Trauma Awareness Day is run by The Birth Trauma Association which supports women who have had a traumatic birth experience – for more information visit www.birthtraumaassociation.org.uk.
Upon reading this article, if you require any further advice then please do not hesitate to contact:
Rachel Donovan on 0151 227 1214 or email her at don@johnpickering.co.uk
Ruth Davies on 01422 345 535 or email her at rd@johnpickering.co.uk
Claire Horton on 0161 834 1251 or email her at hort@johnpickering.co.uk
ABOUT JOHN PICKERING AND PARTNERS LLP
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 adjudicator 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 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.