Medical Negligence Solicitor Calls On NHS Trust To Learn From Deadly Delays That Led To Newborn’s Death
08/02/2011
A West Midlands couple has been awarded a five figure out-of-court settlement after critical hospital delays led to the death of their baby son.
Medical negligence solicitors have called on an NHS trust to learn critical lessons after the death of Bailey Burton, who died of irreparable brain damage, aged just two days, in October 2008 following a delay in his birth.
Kerry Burton and her partner Nigel Walton from Birmingham had been trying for a baby for around five years but after learning that fertility problems meant that they were unable to conceive naturally, they opted for IVF treatment.
The couple later found out that they were expecting twins but their joy turned to tragedy when their second twin, son Bailey, died just two days after birth.
A delay in carrying out a caesarean section following the delivery of the first twin, Rebecca, led to Bailey being born with irreparable brain damage.
Problems began for Miss Burton at 27 weeks pregnancy and she was admitted to Heartlands Hospital after reporting reduced foetal movements. It was initially believed that her waters may have broken. Following a scan, she was discharged home but three days later, after suffering from abdominal pain, she was re-admitted to the hospital’s delivery suite, where it was discovered that she was in the advanced stages of labour.
When the maternity staff noticed that the babies’ heartbeats were becoming slow, an emergency crash team was called and baby Rebecca was delivered vaginally at 7.05am. Rebecca was admitted to the neonatal unit for her condition to be stabilised whilst Miss Burton was transferred to theatre after it was discovered that her second twin was in the breech position.
Despite the signs of foetal distress, more vital minutes elapsed before the decision was finally taken to perform an emergency caesarean section. Bailey was eventually delivered at 7.59am and by then was in a very poor condition and unable to breathe unassisted. He was transferred to the neonatal unit but sadly he died two days later on 2nd October 2008.
An internal investigation at the hospital led to Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust agreeing to pay an undisclosed five-figure medical negligence compensation settlement to the couple. The settlement comes as leading medical negligence experts call for lessons to be learned by the Trust in order to avoid the death or serious injury of newborn babies due to delays in maternity care.
Guy Forster, a medical negligence lawyer from Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, who represented Miss Burton and Mr Walton, said: “During delivery, when a baby is in distress and is being starved of oxygen, every minute is critical. It appears that the doctors quickly recognised both twins’ heart rates were dangerously slow and Rebecca was delivered soon after but there were then long delays before Bailey was born.
“To lose a much longed for baby after undergoing months of IVF treatment is bad enough but to discover that there had been entirely preventable delays has been very difficult for Kerry and Nigel to cope with. Their torment has been compounded by the Trust’s failure to admit legal liability for Bailey’s death in spite of its own highly critical internal investigation. Sadly, the tragedy has damaged their relationship as a couple and as a consequence they are no longer living together although they remain devoted parents to their twin daughter, Rebecca.”
Kerry Burton commented: “It’s been so difficult to move forward following the loss of Bailey, although having little Rebecca has meant we have had to stay positive for her sake. She has thankfully overcome the initial problems following her difficult birth and she is a typical toddler who is full of life. However, it’s heartbreaking to look at her and think that she will never grow up alongside the little brother she should have had.
“To find out that Bailey’s death was as a result of him being starved of oxygen during his delivery makes me so angry. Although nothing will ever bring my baby back, it’s important that the Trust learns lessons so that no other parents have to suffer as Nigel and I have.”
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