Damages awarded for premature caesarean delivery

City firm Field Fisher Waterhouse has secured a 450,000 damages award on behalf of young girl left with multiple injuries following premature delivery due to a mistake in calculating the length of her mothers pregnancy.

The girl, now eight years old, was delivered almost five weeks early by caesarean section at Lewisham Hosptial in south London.

She consequently suffered a number of complications associated with prematurity, including severe respiratory problems, cardiac, liver and renal failure and the loss of part of the fingers of her right hand.

Although the girl made a good recovery, she sustained permanent damage to her kidneys and right hand, and was subsequently discovered to have a severe hearing defect.

It has never been explained why the expected date of delivery was altered following her 20-week gestation ultrasound scan, but the error was sustained througout the rest of the mothers pregnancy.

Included within the settlement was compensation for the cost of additional support at school, speech therapy, plastic surgery and loss of earnings.

The award has been made on a provisional basis.

Should the girl suffer further complications as a result of her damaged kidneys, she will be able to apply to the court for additional compensation.

The award was made on 11 January.

Neil Rose