Compensation of £43,000 recovered following still birth caused by multiple breaches of duty of care
23 July 2024
The specialist clinical negligence solicitors at Curtis Law Solicitors have recovered £43,000 in compensation for a client who experienced a still birth after multiple breaches of duty of care.
Mrs O was pregnant for the fourth time after one previous miscarriage and two term deliveries. Following her miscarriage, she was informed that she would require a cervical cerclage for future pregnancies, which had been used successfully in her subsequent pregnancies. A cervical cerclage was placed in the index pregnancy.
At 35+4 weeks Mrs O attended the midwife complaining of vaginal discomfort, vaginal loss, diminished foetal movements and a pulling pain in her vagina. She underwent CTG and a high vaginal swab. She was told if there was any sign of infection she would be called back within two days, and if she did not receive a call back to assume they were fine. She did not receive any results but continued to suffer from the above symptoms.
At 36+4 weeks she attended for removal of the cervical suture, and it was noted that it was to be sent to microbiology for analysis. On querying this with the midwife, Mrs O was informed that the earlier swab had in fact revealed e-coli infection and she was commenced on antibiotics for seven days. Her symptoms eased.
At 37+2 weeks Mrs O attended for a growth scan which plotted above the 90th centile.
At 39+3 weeks Mrs O attended for a repeat growth scan which noted that growth was tailing off. The plan was to repeat the scan at 40+5 weeks. However, that night Mrs O had a spontaneous rupture of membranes, so she attended hospital for observation. Foetal traces were lost the following morning and intrauterine death was confirmed. Post mortem confirmed that the cause of death was chorioamnionitis.
The Health Board investigated these events and concluded that earlier intervention was required and opportunities to intervene had been missed. It was alleged that there were failures to note and act upon growth changes appropriately, that the positive swab result was not actioned with the administration of suitable antibiotics for an appropriate length of time, that examination and observations following the spontaneous rupture of membranes were inadequate, that there was a failure to escalate Mrs O for senior review, and that there was a failure to expedite delivery despite multiple opportunities to do so. It was alleged that but for these failures of care, the baby would have been delivered prior to intrauterine death.
Mrs O was examined by a psychologist who diagnosed her with persistent complex bereavement disorder following perinatal loss and panic disorder. This was noted to be a complex reaction with clinically significant psychological symptoms. Private treatment and therapy were recommended.
Admissions of liability was secured, and steps were taken to claim compensation for the psychological injury that Mrs O had suffered, the loss of satisfaction in bringing the pregnancy to a satisfactory conclusion and future treatment and therapy costs. Settlement was agreed in the sum of £43,000.
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