Northampton General Hospital Compensation Claim

If you or a member of your family have been injured as a result of medical negligence at Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust you may be entitled to financial compensation. To speak to an expert about your situation, call Quittance on 0800 376 1001.

See also:

Medical negligence compensation claims

Northampton personal injury solicitors

See also:

Personal injury solicitors in Northampton

Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust (2005) Case Study

An 11 year old girl was awarded £170,000 at a Child Settlement Approval Hearing after treatment for an injury sustained at birth left her with a permanent disability in her left arm and shoulder.

The claimant was born naturally by spontaneous vaginal delivery in 1993. At delivery there was a degree of shoulder dystocia - a rare emergency where the head has been born, but one of the shoulders becomes stuck. Her head was on the perineum for about 6-7 minutes and she was subsequently found to have sustained damage to the branchial plexus on the left side.

Although there was a degree of spontaneous neurological recovery without any surgery, the claimant's condition did not return to normal.

At 3 years old she was admitted to Northampton General Hospital, where she underwent surgery to correct a posterior left shoulder subluxation (partial dislocation) and a year later required further surgery to release the inferior muscle. Her treatment was continued with physiotherapy and other conservative methods, although the operations left some residual scarring.

In September 2001 an examination by a medical expert found that she had a droopy left shoulder, with the left arm being 5cm lower than the right. Stretching her left arm caused occasional pain and she was unable to lift the arm above the horizontal due to reduced shoulder function. Her elbow movement was also impaired and she could not fully extend her arm fully, nor properly rotate her forearm or extend her wrist. Her grip, however, was almost the same on both left and right sides.

It was determined that the claimant had reached a plateau with little chance of any further spontaneous recovery. As well as cosmetic appearance, the injury affected her training and career prospects in addition to limiting her participation of hobbies, sports and leisure.

Compensation Settlement

Judge Cernik awarded £33,000 (£45,357.59 RPI adjusted) for general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity. This was apportioned as £30,000 for the shoulder and upper limb dysfunction and £3,000 for the scarring.

Special damages of £137,000 were awarded, bringing the total to £170,000 (£233,660.34 RPI adjusted)

Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust

Making a claim for medical or clinical negligence can seem initially overwhelming. Hospital Trusts are large complex organisations. Just finding out what happened can be complicated.

The panel of solicitors have significant experience in taking on hospital trusts and securing financial compensation for people affected by clinical or medical negligence.

Call us on 0800 376 1001 to discuss your situation with a claims expert or find out what your claim could be worth.