Attention has recently been drawn to the rise in the amount paid by the National Health Service Litigation Authority (NHSLA) to families who have bought obstetric claims against maternity units in the UK. In 2007-2008 the NHSLA paid out £288m in such claims that are awarded under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts.

The figure may seem large but the cost of caring for a child with severe cerebral palsy caused by a mismanaged birth can run into hundreds of thousands pounds a year so that typical damages can be in the region of £5m - £8m.  Many of the families of clients that the clinical negligence department at Leigh Day & Co represents in birth-injury claims usually turn to the law as a desperate last-resort because they have been unable to get the levels of support they need to make the lives of their severely handicapped children tolerable.  They do not believe in a ‘compensation culture’ but do believe that they are entitled to fair recompense when their lives have been shattered.

The litigation bill faced by the NHS is in stark contrast to the amount of money being put into the improvement of maternity services in the UK.  Louise Silverton, the deputy general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives said that the cost of the claims “underlines what a false economy it is to cut back on maternity care”.

Leigh Day partner Russell Levy, co-head of one of the largest clinical negligence team in the UK, says: "Of course these figures pale into insignificance when compared to the amount of public funds the government has recently pumped into the high street banks".

Leigh Day & Co has handled many high-value cerebral palsy and birth-injury claims, many of which could have been avoided. If you would like to discuss such a claim please contact one of our in-house nurses, Denise Macaneny or Anne McCrea, for a free initial consultation on 020 7650 1200.