O’Reilly Stewart Solicitors recently obtained a settlement of £27,500.00 on behalf of our client who suffered physical and psychological injuries due to the allegedly negligent management of her post-natal haemorrhage in 2017. Claire Hunt dealt with the matter.
In 2017, our client gave birth to her baby by elective Caesarean Section. That evening, she began to feel very lightheaded and generally unwell to the extent that she passed out. Her blood pressure was dropping and she was initially misdiagnosed with dehydration. There was a delay in diagnosing and treating internal bleeding and in initiating the hospital’s Protocol for the management of this. As such, there was also a delay by the doctors who were treating our client in seeking the assistance of the Consultant in charge and thereafter in our client returning to theatre to undergo the necessary repair surgery.
As a result , our client experienced unnecessary pain, prolonged internal bleeding and significant distress. There was also a delay in bonding with her baby as she required overnight admission to ICU. In addition, she suffered depression and generalised anxiety disorder with some elements of a post-traumatic stress nature.
Our client instructed us to investigate the standard of treatment which she had received. We obtained copies of her clinical records and instructed an independent Consultant Obstetrician. This expert concluded that the above delays were not acceptable and were based upon the misinterpretation of a scan.
We also then obtained a report from a Consultant Psychiatrist based in Northern Ireland who confirmed that our client had suffered significant psychological upset including significant anxiety for an extended period of time.
After the issue of proceedings, the representatives of the Trust agreed to negotiate. Settlement was achieved on the basis that our client would receive £27,500.00 damages, in respect of the avoidable pain and suffering which she had endured and the cost of the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as recommended by our Psychiatric expert. The settlement was reached without any admission of liability on behalf of the hospital Trust.
