§ PUBLISHED JUDGMENT · 2023

CTQ v King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

[2023] EWHC 2975 (KB)·High Court (King's Bench Division)·23 November 2023

A 37-year-old mother suffered a cardiac arrest because intravenous fluids were not given during spinal anaesthesia just after her daughter's birth, leaving her with a brain injury; the hospital admitted liability. The court used its inherent jurisdiction to approve a settlement worth roughly £5.56m including periodical payments.

Outcome

Settlement approved

Sum stated in judgment

£2,500,000

Claim type

Maternal Birth Injury

Decided

Settlement approved by the court

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§ WHAT HAPPENED

The facts, in brief.

Defendant: King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust · this trust’s claims data

Injury: Cardiac arrest during spinal anaesthesia shortly after delivery in March 2018, causing hypoxic-ischaemic brain damage with memory and cognitive deficits and inability to work

Specialty: Obstetric anaesthesia · England

§ WHAT THE COURT SAID

In the judgment’s own words.

“I find that this settlement is in the claimant's best interests. On that basis I approve the settlement under CPR 21.10.”
[2023] EWHC 2975 (KB) at [38] · read the full judgment

The money

Gross lump sum £2,500,000 (net £2,300,000 after £200,000 interim payments) plus periodical payments of £131,482 in Dec 2023, £124,000 pa 2024-2034 and £43,805 pa from 2035, indexed to ASHE 6115; conservative capitalised value about £5,560,000 ([32], [36]).

§ WHY IT MATTERS

What this case shows.

Anaesthetic errors around delivery can found a maternal negligence claim even when the baby is unharmed. Courts can approve settlements for adults with cognitive impairment even where they have not formally been found to lack capacity.

About maternal birth injury claims →

§ MORE MATERNAL BIRTH INJURY JUDGMENTS

Settlement approved£3.85M

ERE v East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

[2024] EWHC 2569 (KB)·2024·Settlement approved by the court

A 23-year-old mother was discharged after giving birth in July 2015, developed breathlessness and palpitations, and suffered a cardiac arrest after being readmitted, leaving her with severe hypoxic brain damage. The claim settled on the day the quantum trial was due to start and the court approved the package for her as a protected party.

Maternal claims are not limited to injuries during labour itself; a failure in care in the weeks after birth that causes brain injury can lead to a multi-million-pound settlement. Where the injured person lacks capacity, a judge must approve any settlement.

Claimant succeeded£68,742

Rathore v Bedford Hospitals NHS Trust

[2017] EWHC 863 (QB)·2017·Damages assessed at trial

Swabs taken after childbirth showed chlamydia but neither the patient nor her GP was told, and it went untreated for about a year; she suffered repeated pain and an ectopic pregnancy requiring removal of a fallopian tube. The trust admitted breach; the court accepted the ectopic pregnancy and a period of pain disorder were caused by the negligence but rejected the claim that her later chronic widespread pain was.

Failing to pass on an abnormal test result is a clear breach, but the claimant still has to prove which later problems flowed from it. Long-term pain conditions are hard to attribute to a delayed diagnosis.

Claim failed

Manzi v King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

[2016] EWHC 1101 (QB)·2016·Liability decided at trial

A mother alleged that a registrar negligently failed to spot on an ultrasound that a substantial piece of placenta had been left behind after birth, leading to infection and an emergency operation two weeks later. The parties agreed the claim depended on proving a substantial (about 7 cm) piece was retained, and the judge was not persuaded of that on the evidence.

Retained placenta claims often turn on what the scan would actually have shown; if the retained tissue was small, a missed scan finding may not be negligent. Agreed thresholds for success can decide a case.

All maternal birth injury judgments →

Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0. Judgments from Find Case Law, The National Archives. Summaries are ours; amounts only where printed in the judgment.

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