The family of a nine year old girl who was left brain damaged at birth has won a multi million pound medical negligence claim.

Kiera Berry was born at Jessop Hospital, Sheffield in April 2001. She did not breathe for the first seven minutes of her life, which caused her to suffer from oxygen starvation. She has been left with brain damage, cerebral palsy and dystonic quadriplegia. Her injuries mean she cannot sit unaided and will need round-the-clock care all of her life.

According to the Sheffield Star newspaper, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust admitted it mismanaged the labour of Kiera’s mum, and has agreed to pay a multi million pound settlement. The exact amount of compensation awarded has not been reported.

The damages agreement was approved at the High Court in London and will cover the costs of Kiera’s extensive care needs for the rest of her life. While approving the settlement the Judge in the case paid tribute to Kiera and her family and wished them all the best for the future.

A schoolgirl looks set to receive a significant amount of medical negligence compensation after suffering injury at birth.

Antonia Caddock suffered from oxygen starvation during her delivery at Watford General Hospital back in June 2004. This caused here serious brain injury which means she will require round-the-clock care for the rest of her life.

Her family sought legal damages from the NHS, claiming errors in her birth caused the serious injuries she suffered. In the High Court, London, her legal team alleged that medical staff were responsible for urging Antonia’s mother to undergo a conventional delivery without explaining the full risks. She had suffered from complications in a previous pregnancy and had originally decided on a planned caesarean before having her mind changed.

Antonia’s mother is also claiming compensation for injuries she herself sustained in the delivery, and on Friday the NHS offered to settle both claims on a basis of 40% liability. This will avoid the need for full court proceedings, unless the amount due in damages cannot be agreed. Even on the basis of 40% liability, Antonia could be set for a multi-million pound settlement to help cover the costs of her extensive care needs.

A man who was starved of oxygen at birth has won medical negligence compensation of £1.75 million pounds.

The unnamed man who is now in his twenties, was born at Harlow’s Princess Alexandra Hospital in Essex. During his birth, it is alleged that medical staff failed to perform a Caesarean in time. Because of this, he suffered from oxygen starvation of the brain for a period of time. This left him with acute brain damage, which causes him walking problems. He needs extensive care as he has the “mind of a very small child”.

The man made a claim for compensation with the help of his parents from the Princess Alexandra Hospitals NHS Trust. Although a settlement has been agreed, the NHS has not admitted liability for the incident, although it does express its regret at the events that took place.

The Judge in the case approved the settlement for the unnamed man, as the £1.75 million pounds will be used to pay for his extensive care needs.

A man who underwent a gastric band procedure is now suing the NHS for medical negligence compensation as he can no longer eat.

Tim Daily weighed 24 stone when he underwent the procedure at Charing Cross Hospital. He weighed so much he was classed as morbidly obese and suffered from diabetes due to his weight. The procedure places a band around the stomach reducing its size, and meaning that the person can physically eat less food.

After the operation in 2008, Mr Daily lost 12 stone in three months. However, he is no longer able to eat solid food, having to be fed by a tube directly into his stomach. He suffers from pain and at one point was taken to hospital with malnutrition.

He is now seeking compensation, claiming he was not warned about the risks of the procedure. He states that he was only told of the positive aspects of surgery. He has also reportedly stated that he would rather be his old weight than put up with the quality of life he now has.

When Susan Misiewicz underwent what should have been a routine operation in July last year, she could not imagine the series of events which were to follow.

After being scheduled for a hysterectomy operation at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre NHS hospital, the Primary Care Trust gave her the option of undergoing the operation free of charge at the city’s private Woodthorpe hospital. This was offered as part of a scheme to cut NHS waiting lists.

After undergoing the 45 min procedure she was rushed back into theatre after suffering from serious internal bleeding. It is then that an 18 inch swab – something that resembles a tea towel – used to stem bleeding was accidentally left inside her.

It was some four months before the swab was discovered, after she underwent a scan to find the source of continued stomach pains. It was removed in another surgical procedure, and unfortunately, a small part of her bowel had to be removed as the swab had wrapped itself around it.

Ms Misiewicz is now seeking medical negligence compensation for the trauma and pain she has been put through.

Records just released by the National Archives today have revealed that despite a raft of compensation claims against the NHS recently, medical negligence is far from a new phenomenon.

The records include hundreds of thousands of pages of memos and letters which document the life of the working classes in the 19th century. The Daily Telegraph reports that amongst these pages are several documented instances of medical negligence.

One of these involved a surgeon by the name of Thomas S Fletcher who worked at Bromsgrove Workhouse in 1842. He was investigated for negligence after one of his patients – a young boy – died after being bathed in acid. The treatment was common at the time to get rid of scabies, but he failed to supervise a nurse and she used too much acid with tragic effect. He was investigated but allowed to continue practicing.

Another incident involved John Callan, a doctor from Liverpool in the 1830s, who refused to watch over a child birth, but instead turned up the day after and drunk. He was suspended from his duties after it later emerged he also tried to bribe a witness in the investigation.

The documents, compiled by poor law unions in the first half of the 19th century, show that unfortunately medical negligence has a long and sad history.

NHS Trusts are risking a major influx of medical negligence compensation claims after failing to implement Patient Safety Alerts.

Patient Safety Alerts are issued to instigate changes in procedures when problems have been found with existing practices. Recent alerts include ones for dealing with oxygen safety and injectionable medicine safety. All alerts are coupled with a deadline by which time the individual NHS Trusts should have implemented the changes.

The Action against Medical Accidents charity has published a report in to how well these alerts are being put into action. Some of the reports main points are shown below:

- 29% of trusts have failed to comply with 10 or more alerts before the deadlines
- 63% of trusts have failed to comply with at least 1 alert before the deadlines
- 1,242 alerts have not been complied with before their deadlines

These failures to implement the safety changes obviously have serious implications for patients. If patients suffer from clinical errors due to the new procedures not being operated then claims for compensation may be possible. The charity itself called for more monitoring of the implementation of safety alerts.

A man has won an out of court settlement for his clinical negligence claim despite the NHS continuing to deny liability.

The 58 year old man who wishes to remain anonymous was admitted to Colchester General Hospital with stomach pains. Tests found rotting tissue in his pancreas, and a cyst was drained. The Chelmsford Weekly News newspaper is reporting that he left the hospital after 11 days treatment.

Unfortunately he was readmitted in the same month with pain in his stomach and pus coming from his pancreas. Again this was drained and more tests were conducted. More rotting tissue was later removed from his abdomen and he took a total of 2 months to fully recover from the ordeal.

He then sued for compensation, claiming that he suffered two months extra pain due to failure to carry out complete tests the first time he was admitted. He alleged that he should have received an MRI scan and endoscopy which he did not.

Although the hospital continues to deny liability, they settled the claim out of court. They awarded the man £7,500 in compensation and in a statement wished him all the best for the future.

Doctors working as GP’s across the country are being given new guidelines about spotting meningitis after a spate of medical negligence claims against the NHS.

Meningitis is a serious condition which requires quick diagnosis and treatment to give the sufferer the greatest chance of recovery. Unfortunately in some cases the condition can be fatal or leave lasting damage to the sufferer, including brain damage.

The Medical Defence Union has released figures which reveal that the amount of compensation awarded to a victim or the family of a victim who has not been diagnosed with meningitis correctly regularly tops the £1 million pounds mark. It also reveals that since 1998, 34 claims for not diagnosing meningitis have been paid out, with a total cost of £22 million pounds. Compensation settlements range from £7,000 to £6.8 million depending on the severity of injuries the condition caused.

As a result of this, new advice has been issued to doctors in a bid to improve diagnosis. About 1,000 people a year catch the potentially deadly disease in England and Wales, while another 1,700 catch meningococcal disease.

A woman who was left with permanent injury after suffering from meningitis has failed in her attempt to claim medical negligence compensation for the delay in her diagnosis.

Rachel Knott contracted the serious illness back in 2000, and Dr Alan Leading was called to the house to examine her. Her legal case revolved around the accusation that Dr Leading failed to spot the clear signs of the illness during the examination.

Rachel was not referred to hospital until the following evening after seeing a different out of hours doctor. Despite the treatment in the hospital, Ms Knott has been left deaf in one ear. She claimed that had Dr Leading referred her to hospital earlier then her hearing could possibly have been saved. This she claimed would have happened if Dr Leading had realised the implications of three petechial spots she had, which is a clear symptom of meningitis.

The Judge in the case denied her claim for compensation, deciding that there was no negligence on the part of Dr Leading. He reported to the Court that Rachel seemed alert when he examined her, and that the claims of having three petechial spots did not match with reports of other medical staff.