James Paget Hospital: Mother awarded £15,000 for failings over baby death

There were multiple opportunities to save six-month-old Harris James. He was mistakenly treated for pneumonia, when in fact he had a heart condition.

The Trust had apologised to the family but the ombudsman report had ruled there were serious failings made by the Hospital.

Harris had experienced weight loss following gastroenteritis. On 12 November he was taken by ambulance to the trust’s A&E department after he vomited and became floppy. The staff thought he had developed sepsis and possible aspiration pneumonia. An ECG showed several heart abnormalities and at this point, Harris should have been referred to a specialist, however, staff failed to escalate his care when his condition was getting worse.

A Chartered Legal Executive Lawyer in the Medical Negligence team at Ashtons Legal comments: “Parents should never have to go through the unimaginable pain of losing their child, especially under these horrendous circumstances. The trust will need to ensure that they are expediting in circumstances where they discover such abnormalities. Whilst an apology and monetary award acknowledges the pain and suffering the parents endure, I find it terrible that any life can be valued at such an abysmal amount.”