£18.4 million settlement after delayed treatment of HSV infection in forceps scalp grazes causes cerebral palsy

Boyes Turner’s neonatal brain injury claims lawyers secured an £18.4million (capitalised) compensation settlement for a child whose brain was severely injured when hospital neonatal staff failed to treat herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in the forceps grazes on his scalp when he was 10 days old. 

The child’s brain injury left him with quadriplegic cerebral palsy and severe disability which affects his movement, communication and cognitive development. He has suffered from seizures (fits) and is gastrostomy fed. He will remain completely dependent on others for care and support with every aspect of his shortened life.

Delayed antiviral treatment led to brain injury and cerebral palsy

The claim related to negligent treatment that our client received in a hospital neonatal unit (NNU) in the first few days of life. A community midwife had visited him at home and noticed a worrying rash on his scalp from forceps grazes which had become infected and referred him to the hospital’s NNU where he was seen the same day by a consultant.  The consultant noted that the scalp lesions suggested HSV infection, which should have been treated immediately with IV antiviral treatment, but on admission to hospital the baby’s antiviral treatment was negligently delayed whilst waiting for swab results to confirm the HSV diagnosis. He was given IV antibiotics in hospital for four days and was then discharged home. Two days later the community midwife referred him back to the NNU, as he was unwell and having seizures. He was finally given IV antiviral and antibiotic treatment, but brain scans later confirmed that he had suffered a brain injury caused by the HSV infection.

£850,000 interim (advance) payments helped our injured client’s family meet their urgent needs

We helped the child’s mother make a claim for compensation against the hospital, which admitted liability (responsibility) for the child’s injury and disability.

You can read more about the liability stage of our client’s claim here.

We obtained judgment and interim (advance) payments totalling £850,000 to help the family meet their child’s immediate needs for care, case management, therapies, equipment, special educational support and suitable rented accommodation, whilst we gathered the evidence needed to value the claim.

Compensation settlement provides £6.6m lump sum and lifelong yearly sums to meet the costs of care

We then met with the hospital’s legal team and negotiated a settlement which provides our client with a lump sum of over £6.6million plus guaranteed, lifelong, annual payments of up to £345,000pa to meet the costs of his significant care needs for the rest of his shortened life.  

Our client has the benefit of Court of Protection deputyship. His privacy is protected by an anonymity order.

If you are caring for a child with cerebral palsy or neurological disability caused by negligent care or have been contacted by MNSI, HSSIB, HSIB or NHS Resolution,  you can talk to our experienced solicitors, free and confidentially, for advice or to find out more about making a claim, by contacting us here.