Western Trust to pay brain-damaged girl’s family £21m

Serious complications arose when the child’s mother went into labour, and the family decided to sue the Western Trust over the delay in carrying out the caesarean section.

The couple’s daughter was left with cerebral palsy, which is a serious, lifelong disability.

The family wish to remain anonymous but, in a statement, the girl’s father described the case as “long and emotionally draining”.

The hospital at the centre of the case has not been identified.

The family’s solicitor, Eoin Kearney, said the Western Trust could have made matters easier by admitting at an earlier stage that negligence caused the girl’s brain damage.

They had only accepted partial liability, he said, until the case was about to go to trial.

“As is unfortunately all too common in these types of cases, this did not include any acceptance that the negligence caused the child to suffer brain damage,” he told BBC News NI.

“The negligence arose out of a delay on the doctors’ part in moving to an emergency Caesarean section when serious complications arose during the labour.

“Those complications were the child’s heart rate dropping significantly and, at that stage, should have alert the doctors to the need to take evasive action which, unfortunately in this case, was delayed by around 15 minutes.

“The medical expert we engaged gave an opinion that had 15 minutes’ delay not taken place, this child would not have suffered any brain damage.”

Mr Kearney said the delay in the Western Trust admitting full liability meant that, until now, the girl’s family had to look after her complex medical needs with limited financial support.

“Knowing the parents well as I do at this stage, I can say undoubtedly that the biggest moment for them was when the trust admitted full liability because that was a formal acknowledgement that their daughter had been wronged and that some justice had finally been achieved on her behalf,” he added.