Clinical negligence compensation paid to couple in stillbirth tragedy

Posted 16/02/2011

Clinical negligence compensation has been successfully claimed by a British couple after a series of mistakes made by staff at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in 2009 led to their son being stillborn.

Katie and Robert Page took the establishment to court following the death, claiming professionals caring for Ms Page made a number of poor decisions – such as to postpone the induction of labour – despite having identified the pregnancy as high-risk.

The Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust accepted liability and paid a five-figure clinical negligence compensation settlement to the couple.

Their legal representative commented: “To lose a baby is upsetting enough but to discover that – was it not for entirely avoidable, basic errors – Harry would have survived, has been very difficult.”

According to statistics from the NHS, five out of every 1,000 births in the UK are stillbirths.

Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, who heads the medical negligence team at Ashtons Legal, comments: “Cases involving the stillbirth of a perfectly healthy baby are always particularly tragic. Money can never properly compensate for the loss and most parents take action to force some accountability and secure changes in practice to prevent the same mistakes happening again.

“If these cases take a long time to settle, which they sometimes do, it merely exacerbates the parents’ suffering and anger so the earlier the settlement the better for all concerned.”