Child left with severe Cerebral Palsy, after complications during birth, sparks Clinical Negligence campaign.
#LeonasStory: A client of law firm, Forbes Solicitors discusses her traumatic experience during the birth of her daughter and how brain injury compensation has helped them to continue with family life.
You don’t expect to be failed by medical professionals during the delivery of your child, yet Angela from Clitheroe experienced just that when her daughter, Leona, was born in September 2001. Legal firm, Forbes Solicitors, represented Angela and her family with a clinical negligence claim after Leona was born with cerebral palsy. They continue to work with the family to oversee the funds from the compensation, ensuring that Leona receives adequate care throughout her lifetime.
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder which is caused by damage to the brain during, before or after a child is born. It affects muscle movement and also co-ordination, sometimes resulting in a variety of symptoms such as muscle weakness, stiffness, tremors and problems with balance.
Delay in delivery and failure to proceed to caesarean section during the birth of Leona unfortunately caused her to suffer from brain damage and she now requires constant care. The award for damages was approved by the High Court, Preston District Registry.
Angela opened up in a video about her ordeal and how this level of negligence has had an impact on everyday life for not just Leona, but for the whole family. The campaign aims to highlight the impact of a brain injury and how making a claim can help to improve not only quality of life, but also provide a wider support network for those affected. Angela was able to use the compensation to specially adapt her house and garden in order to make Leona feel as comfortable as possible, as well as paying for high-quality medical equipment and various physiotherapy sessions.
She said, “The whole process was made really easy. It’s not easy to travel from office to office with a disabled child and Forbes came to visit us in our own home. Once everything was signed, they took over and have been with us every step of the way since.”
Watch the full case study here.
Clinical negligence solicitor and specialist, Leonie Millard from Forbes Solicitors said, “This is a tragic case where Leona’s disablement is at the top end of severity and it is testament to the family that she has battled through and has outlived her life expectancy. Leona comes from a close knit family unit and the compensation assists every day in meeting her needs. The family live in an adapted family home, purchased from and maintained from the damages award, achieved against strong and consistent denials of wrong doing from the hospital.”
