Alex* was born with cerebral palsy caused by medical negligence during labour. We helped his parents recover compensation to pay for much-needed therapies, aids and equipment, care and accommodation
Alex and his family lived outside of the UK, which meant we had to consider the complexity of European tax laws. We engaged specialist advice to protect Alex’ compensation against the potential impacts of European tax rules in the future.
What happened to Alex?
Alex experienced hypoxia during his birth which resulted in brain damage. Labour was induced at 36+5 weeks and Alex was born via emergency caesarean section.
When he was born, he wasn’t breathing, was blue, and without a heartbeat. After being resuscitated, he was taken to the neonatal ward, where Alex was intubated and cooled. This was to try to reduce the damage to his brain, heart, and lungs.
In the following days, his family were told that Alex had severe brain damage and would likely have physical and cognitive issues.
Alex was diagnosed with cerebral palsy but was eventually allowed to go home. When Alex was six months old, he started having infantile spasms.
How has this impacted Alex’s life and his family’s life?
Alex’s family first came to us when he was aged around 1.5 years, he couldn’t crawl or walk, nor could he speak. Instead, he made noises and hand gestures as a form of communication. As our time working with Alex went on, his impairments developed and worsened.
It’s expected that Alex will need a high level of care throughout his life and will have severe disabilities.
His disabilities made his mother feel more like a carer than a parent. It also put a strain on her parenting Alex’s younger sibling.
How did Irwin Mitchell help Alex?
When the family received a Report of a Serious Incident Investigation from the NHS Trust, this prompted them to come to our medical negligence solicitors for help. The letter stated there were missed opportunities that may have prevented or lessened the harm that occurred.
Kate Major, a senior associate in our medical negligence team, worked with Alex’s family to make sure they got the support they needed.
Kate started by gathering the medical records for both Alex and his mother. She then instructed several independent medical experts, including a midwife, obstetrician, paediatric neurologist, and neuroradiologist, to examine the care they received. Each expert agreed with us that the treatment was substandard.
We were then able to prepare a Letter of Claim setting out our allegations and sent this to the defendant NHS Trust for their consideration. The defendant Trust admitted liability and offered a Letter of Apology to the family.
Kate then worked to settle on a compensation amount. To do so, she instructed a number of experts to consider Alex’s current and longer-term needs.
These experts were in several specialities including:
- Accommodation
- Assistive technology
- Care and case management
- Physiotherapy
- Speech and language therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Education psychology
- Condition and prognosis.
Dealing with European tax issues
Kate also had another consideration with Alex’s case. The family were living permanently in Europe and were foreign nationals. This had implications on how the compensation would be dealt with in their country of residence.
In the UK, damages aren’t taxed, but this isn’t necessarily the same in Europe. So, we had to consider whether we should claim additional damages from the Trust. This would protect Alex’s family if taxes did become payable on his compensation.
The tax is only payable if a clinical assessment doesn’t rate Alex as 80% or more disabled. Although he’s rated 80% or higher now, if this were to change in the future his yearly settlement could be taxed.
Settling Alex’s claim
Shortly before the trial, Kate was able to reach a settlement with the Trust. Alex would receive a seven-figure lump sum and annual periodical payments for care and case management for the rest of his life.
An Approval Hearing was needed for the court in the UK to confirm that the agreed settlement is in Alex’s best interests, because he can’t determine this himself.
The settlement allows Alex’s family to find suitable accommodation and set up a full professional care package for him. He’ll now have access to the essential therapies, assistive equipment, and educational support he needs to enjoy his life.
Expert opinion
On Alex’s case, Kate said: “The birth of a child should be a joyous time for families. Unfortunately, for Alex’s family, they’ve been left with emotional scars after missed opportunities from medical professionals left their child with cerebral palsy and the day-to-day reality of looking after a child with complex needs.
“Fortunately as a result of the compensation we negotiated for him, Alex is now able to live with his family and they have the security of knowing that the compensation will cover his needs now and in the future.
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