Teenager’s £5m award over birth blunders

The youngster, now 18, who is not being named, was starved of oxygen in the days leading to her birth at St Luke’s Hospital in Bradford in 1994.

Despite concerns about the wellbeing of both mother and her unborn baby following their admission to hospital, staff did not refer the case to senior doctors for assessment.

The girl’s mother suffered further problems but was discharged home until, four days later, she was re-admitted and scans showed the baby was not active.

There were further delays until the baby was delivered by emergency caesarean section when she was discovered to have been starved of oxygen and left with cerebral palsy. She is entirely dependent on her family and carers with problems speaking and hearing as well as severe learning difficulties and epilepsy.

The award includes a lump sum of £2.2m and further annual payments totalling £3.3m to cover her care and other special needs such as adapting her home.

Her mother said: “This has been a long hard fight to secure justice for my daughter.

“The last 18 years have taken their toll and been extremely stressful not only on myself but the whole family but I hope that we can now get the care and equipment that she needs to provide her with a better life.”

Jane McBennett, of Morrish Solicitors, who acted for the family, said: “The hospital trust and their solicitors initially denied liability vigorously. Her daughter would have been left with nothing had her mother not decided to fight on.

“This settlement means that she will be looked after financially for the rest of her life.”

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it would “like to take this opportunity to wish the patient and her family well for the future.”