Back to newsYoung girl’s Erbs Palsy case settles against the National Maternity Hospital.
Posted in News on Thursday, July 18th, 2024
The Plaintiff, through her mother, brought High Court personal injury proceedings against the National Maternity Hospital (NMH), in respect of avoidable injuries acquired during her daughter’s delivery at the Defendant hospital. The Plaintiff suffered a permanent brachial plexus injury to her right shoulder during her birth when shoulder dystocia occurred. The Plaintiff’s case centred on the management of shoulder dystocia at the time of her delivery. The case was listed for hearing to commence before Dublin High Court in July 2024, but resolved before the hearing date following successful mediation.
An anonymity order was sought (and granted by the Court), on behalf of the Plaintiff, prohibiting the publication of any matter relating to the proceedings which would identify the Plaintiff. However, the Plaintiff’s mother addressed the Court, during the Ruling of her daughter’s settlement, on some of the matters regarding the case and covered in her below statement:
Statement of the mother of the Plaintiff in these proceedings against the NMH:
“10 years ago, our daughter, suffered a brachial plexus injury at her birth. This injury was completely avoidable.
Avoidable with consistent, mandatory training, on how to manage a shoulder dystocia birth.
It was our discovery that the midwives managing our daughter’s birth had no formal up to date training in 5 years in how to manage a Shoulder Dystocia birth. I would like those midwives to know I apportion no blame to them, this was an emergency situation with time not on our side, and panic took over.
No one sets out to purposely injure a baby.
I do apportion the blame to the hospital for not supporting them with adequate and consistent training and for putting them, and us, in this difficult position.
I really hope that since our daughter’s birth 10 years ago that the NMH’s training policy has greatly improved and if not, that our case will open their eyes to making change, so all subsequent mothers and babies do not suffer as we have.
The defendants, who pride themselves on the care of women, mothers and babies point the finger of blame at us mothers, for causing our babies permanent injury, due to the natural forces of labour.
This defence of maternal propulsion is insulting. It is used in almost all brachial plexus injury cases, as is the case with ours.
The Defence advanced by the NMH on what caused our daughter’s injury was from an engineering expert in the USA. She is a proponent of the view that Erb’s Palsy can be caused by the forces exerted on the baby, by the mother, during the labour. Based on theory and mechanical modelling, from someone who is not a medical professional. Fortunately, we had expert doctors who were able to refute this theory. Thank you for your persistent work in this area.
This must stop now. Stop blaming mothers for the permanent injury sustained to their babies, due to errors made, during the hospital’s management of the labour (as occurred here). Stop telling us and our children, your mother caused your injury. Start respecting our experience of what happened at the birth of our babies.
We would like to thank our families for all their love and support of us and being an integral part of our daughter’s care over the years. To the Erb’s Palsy Association for their invaluable support and the new friends made. The Central Remedial Clinic who are now an extended part of our family for all their care and attention since our daughter was 8 weeks old.
Our solicitor, Marian Fogarty of Cantillons Solicitors, thank you for your professionalism, expertise and insights, for leaving no stone unturned. Your support and kindness to us over the years has always been appreciated. Thank you to our wider legal team.
Finally, to our daughter. You are a superstar. You have made our journey through this, all that bit easier. You never complain about all the appointments, doing your physio, wearing splints at night. As you are today is all down to your hard work and determination. Love you.”
In the context of the mother’s statement the Defendant hospital delivered a Defence shortly before the commencement of the trial pleading that the cause of the Plaintiff’s shoulder injury was as a result of “maternal propulsion forces” i.e., the actions of the mother’s contractions in attempting to push out the baby whose head was delivered but whose shoulders were obstructed, caused the brachial plexus injury to her own baby, (despite the fact that 3 midwives and 1 obstetrician were present to manage the shoulder dystocia delivery at the Defendant hospital at the time). To support this view, the Defendant hired an American biomedical engineer to write a report to explain how, with the shoulders obstructed, the force from the mother stretched the brachial plexus so as to cause her baby’s injury. Of note, the Defendant’s sole expert on what caused the Plaintiff’s injury was not a medical doctor, the expert had never delivered a baby, and had never performed the obstetric manoeuvres that are required to deliver a baby when shoulder dystocia occurs.
In contrast, the Plaintiff’s medical experts were firmly of the view, given the severity of the injury to her together with the fact that it is a permanent injury, that the forces applied by the accoucheurs (midwives in this case) caused the injury to the Plaintiff. They were also of the view that permanent brachial plexus injuries following shoulder dystocia can be prevented with the provision of ongoing training in the management of shoulder dystocia.
Some news coverage of this case:
Contact us at Cantillons Solicitors at +353 (0)21 4275673 or info@cantillons.com if you would like more information.
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