Legal News

A seven year old boy who at birth had encephalopathy, hypoglycaemia, sepsis, seizures, and pulmonary hypertension has been awarded £30 million in damages from the NHS.

A seven year old boy was born at University College Hospital in June 2012. He was delivered by a caesarean section. At birth he had encephalopathy, hypoglycaemia, sepsis, seizures and pulmonary hypertension caused by a delay in delivery.

He was labeled ‘naughty’ for most of his life and was excluded from school on a daily basis. His family suffered five years of misdiagnosis following his birth

Medical evidence obtained revealed that the child’s volatile behaviour was due to a birth injury. The instructed medical expert, a paediatric neuropsychiatrist, provided a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder and concluded that the boy would not have had this but for the brain injury. He also diagnosed him with ADHD which ‘he probably would have had anyway but which the brain injury made more severe.’

The High Court approved a settlement of £30 million to fund his ongoing problems.

University College London Hospital NHS Trust Foundation apologised over the birth injury and said they hope the money will help provide for his future.


Causation: brain injury or autism?

These type of cases are not straightforward. This is because autism can occur where there has been no breach of duty or negligence. If a child is diagnosed with autism, expert evidence is needed to establish whether the autism has been caused by breach of duty or negligence. In this case the evidence demonstrated that his brain injury had caused the boy to have autistic spectrum disorder and a severe form of ADHD.

Consequently, this means experts in this field may have different views on the cause of injury, including whether the injury has a genetic or environmental cause.

A spokesman of University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust stated that ‘experts found it difficult to assess the cause of injury and establish whether there was a genetic reason for some or all of the neurodevelopmental problems’.

However, the Claimant’s expert, a paediatric neuropsychiatrist, was able to demonstrate that the brain injury had caused him to have an autistic spectrum disorder and a severe form of ADHD



How can Duncan Lewis Solicitors assist with similar cases?

The clinical negligence department a Duncan Lewis can assist with a range of claims including but not limited to orthopaedic injury claim, misdiagnose, and delays in diagnosis. In particular, the team has extensive experience in assisting clients with cases concerning brain injuries and birth injury claims.

Our solicitors act for children and adults who have suffered profound and permanent brain, spinal, or neurological injuries and associated disabilities as a consequence of failings in medical care by both the NHS and private hospitals.

We instruct specialist medical experts to ensure we obtain medical evidence that will help us achieve the best outcome for our clients, fighting for maximum compensation for our clients. We explain the process of the claim in detail and keep clients updated throughout their claim.


Time limitation

With a clinical negligence claim, there is a time limit to bring the claim. This is three years from date of the negligent act or the date of knowledge of the negligent act. For minors this time limit starts running from the date of their 18th birthday.

The exception to this rule is Claimants who lack litigation capacity.


Fees and Funding

The majority of our clinical negligence claims are funded by a way of ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’ also known as a ‘no win no fee agreement.’ This means that the client is not required to pay fees if their case is unsuccessful. In successful cases the opponent will pay compensation and cover some of the legal costs. Our solicitors always discuss funding in detail with clients before beginning the process.

For queries and expert advice relating to clinical negligence, do not hesitate to contact our team of expert solicitors on 033 3772 0409.



Author Sahir Hussein is a trainee solicitor in the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence department at Duncan Lewis and works under the supervision of Director, Rebecca Thomas.

Contact Sahir Hussein on 020 7275 258 or at sahirh@duncanlewis.com

Contact Rebecca Thomas on 02031141309 or at rebeccat@duncanlewis.com