Leigh Day & Co. has considerable experience of cases involving various situations which have resulted in hearing loss. These vary from clinical negligence cases where failure to monitor a situation has led to damage to the ear or auditory part of the brain, to personal injury cases where unexploded bombs or ordnance have detonated and left the victim
deaf or with
reduced hearing.
One of the partners in our clinical negligence department,
Sally Jean Nicholes, is a life member of the
British Deaf Association.
If you need more information or if you think you may have a claim and would like a free initial consultation, please call 020 7650 1200.
Child left with severe hearing problems after undiagnosed tuberculosis
A three year old girl contracted a rare form of
tuberculosis in Indonesia which left her with chronic ear infections and ultimately loss of hearing. Her GP failed to advise on
BCG vaccination before the visit and also failed to diagnose the infection on her return. She received sizeable damages which have been placed in trust until she is an adult.
The child’s Indonesian mother was planning to take her daughter on an extended trip to visit her Indonesian family. She went to see her GP prior to their trip. The girl was vaccinated for typhoid, despite advice to doctors that all those travelling to Asia for longer than a month are at increased risk of contracting tuberculosis.
After her trip she returned to the doctors a number of times over the next few years due to chronic ear infections and discharge from her ears. Three years after her Indonesian trip she was shown to be almost totally
deaf in both ears. However, it wasn’t until five years after her trip that she was finally diagnosed with having the rare condition of
tuberculosis infection in both ears.
It is believed that she picked up the infection while on holiday, and that a preventative BCG injection would have protected her from this. Her tuberculosis infection should also have been picked up soon after her return from Indonesia. If she had received the appropriate
triple anti-tuberculosis therapy she would not have suffered from such an extended infection and the her
hearing would have been saved.
A sizeable amount of damages were negotiated on her behalf in an out of court settlement. As well as covering the expense of medical treatment and sophisticated
hearing aids, the highest proportion of the compensation was for future loss of earnings, due to the fact that
her loss of hearing would hinder her in the jobs market.
Deafness caused by undiagnosed meningitis
A one year old boy became deaf after his
meningitis infection was undiagnosed by a hospital for 48 hours. The boy had been hearing before the infection and was taken to hospital when his parents realised that he was seriously ill. Sadly the hospital failed to diagnose the
meningitis infection for two days, at which point he was given intravenous antibiotics. However by that time his
hearing had been seriously affected, a side effect common in early childhood meningitis.
The child was six years old by the time he received a
cochlear implant. This consists of a receiver implanted into the bone behind the ear with electrodes passing the sound into the inner ear. It can allow young, deaf children to hear certain levels of sound so that they can learn to speak. However if children have been using
sign language for a period of time, even though they can now hear certain sounds, many choose not to use spoken language.
Compensation was agreed, but the hospital didn’t admit liability until the very last minute. The boy has received damages on a provisional basis. This means that he was awarded a level of compensation based on the fact that his
cochlear implant is functioning, allowing him to hear. However if the implant fails at any point in the future, he can go back to court for a further assessment of damages which will take into account his renewed
deaf status.
Hearing loss caused by severe jaundice (hyperbilirubinaemia)
We have a number of clients whose hearing loss was caused by
hyperbilirubinaemia (severe
jaundice) shortly after birth. This condition is sometimes called HDN (haemolytic disease of the newborn). Phototherapy and, if necessary, an exchange transfusion are used to treat jaundice in the new born. Failure to recognise escalating jaundice and to treat the problem can lead to a condition called kernicterus, resulting in dyskinetic cerebral palsy and high-tone sensori-neural hearing loss.
One of the causes of HDN is rhesus haemolytic disease which is due to blood-group incompatibility between a rhesus-negative mother and her rhesus-positive baby: the mother produces antibodies which cross the placenta into the baby’s bloodstream, attacking and destroying the baby’s blood cells (a process called “haemolysis”). As a result the baby is born anaemic and quickly becomes jaundiced due to the build up of unconjugated bilirubun (a potentially toxic product of the breakdown of red blood cells). If left untreated, this build-up can damage the brain (particularly an area called the basal ganglia) and other organs.
Thankfully hearing loss and cerebral palsy caused by rhesus haemolytic disease is now increasingly rare in this country since the use of Anti-D prophylaxis in the UK in 1969; but clinical negligence solicitors Anne Winyard, Sally Jean Nicholes and Sarah Campbell have represented several older clients born with rhesus haemolytic disease because (in one case, 20 years previously) medical staff had failed to recognise and treat the condition correctly.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidelines on the use of
Anti-D prophylaxis in rhesus negative pregnant women.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have also issued
Guidelines for the use of Anti-D Immunoglobulin for Rh Prophylaxis.
Hearing loss caused by bomb blast
A three year old Kenyan boy, Loloju Ltaalua, was left totally deaf and lost all ability to speak when one of the cows he was herding stepped on an abandoned explosive. The explosive was believed to have been left by the British Army who used the area as a practice range using live munitions.
His claim was part of a group action against the Ministry of Defence which collectively won £500,000. He received compensation which would pay for a
powerful hearing aid and a place at a special school where he can learn
sign language.
Hearing loss and human rights
Sensory impairment is one of the areas of
special educational needs discussed in the SEN Code of Practice. This is the government guidance on meeting children's special educational needs. Children with a
hearing impairment and associated communication difficulties may often need extra or different educational provision to enable them to succeed at school. This can range from flexible arrangement of the classroom and access to amplification systems in a mainstream school to placement at a special school for the hearing impaired.
The Human Rights department at Leigh Day & Co. assists parents with appeals to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal where there is a dispute over the provision or placement that should be in their child’s Statement.
Some children with special educational needs will have a "statement of special educational needs" which sets out their needs and the special educational provision, e.g. tuition, learning support, aids and equipment etc. they require to make satisfactory educational progress. Their local education authority has to arrange this for them. The Human Rights Department can help in situations where there is a failure to make the provision in a child’s statement or where the education authority is acting unlawfully.
It is unlawful for schools to treat pupils with sensory needs less favourably for a reason related to their disability without good justification. Schools must make reasonable adjustments for a pupil’s disability, outside the SEN framework. We can also advise on and assist with claims under the Disability Discrimination Act.
People with hearing loss may also qualify for services from their local social services, especially if their hearing problems are accompanied by other difficulties.
Day centre provision for adults with hearing problems
Five adults who were being looked after in a specialist day centre began legal action against their Local Authority when they threatened to move them from the out of Borough day care they had been receiving. The group have wide ranging
special needs: all of them had severe or profound learning difficulties, some have hearing problems, some have health issues such as heart problems accompanying cerebral palsy or Down's syndrome.
Legal action was threatened on the basis that the move would compromise the needs of the individuals involved. The council agreed to carry out an independent, needs-led assessment, after which they accepted that the needs of the individuals could not be met at the place they wanted to move them to. The council have agreed to continue to fund the specialist day care they had been receiving, at least until an in-borough facility can offer a comparable service.
If you need more information or if you think you may have a claim and would like a free initial consultation, please call 020 7650 1200.
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