Helen

Death of an Infant

MRH acted on behalf of H who suffered the loss of her daughter shortly after birth in February 2013. H had endured an uneventful pregnancy and was full term when very sadly things went wrong. H attended a routine Hospital appointment on a morning in February 2013 and the baby’s heartbeat was noted not to be as it should. H was transferred to a nearby maternity Hospital but not under the emergency pathway as MRH argued should have occurred. When arriving at the Maternity Hospital there was further delay. H was admitted to the Antenatal Unit as opposed to being admitted directly to the Labour Ward. H eventually underwent an emergency C Section at approximately 1.30pm in the afternoon. MRH successfully argued delay had occurred and there were missed opportunities to perform the C-Section earlier. The Trust eventually agreed the C-Section should have taken place 2 hours earlier. MRH argued if the delay had not occurred, the tragic outcome would on the balance of probabilities been different. The Trust accepted breach of duty and shortly thereafter entered into settlement negotiations. MRH were able to secure substantial damages for H and continue to represent H in relation to the Coroner proceedings.