Medical Negligence Lawyers Investigating Treatment

A North West woman is taking legal action over concerns about the treatment she received when her baby was stillborn at Warrington Hospital.

Angela Owens, age 30, was due to be induced for labour on 22 December 2013 but while out shopping the day before she felt a very severe and sudden pain – nothing like the contractions she had with her first child.

She was advised to attend hospital immediately but on arrival a Midwife examined her and said she could be discharged. Angela refused, feeling that something was wrong so it was agreed she would remain on ward but by the afternoon she was not coping with the pain and contracting regularly. She was moved to a birthing pool to await labour but asked to get out at around 3.30pm because she was in severe pain.

Once Angela was on the bed tests revealed that no fetal heart rate could not be found. Staff then used an Ultrasound machine – which had to be reset twice before it worked – but also found no fetal heart pulsations. Baby Ella was eventually delivered just after 11pm but was recorded as stillborn.

Angela has now instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell who are also representing other families affected by stillbirth problems at the same hospital. The law firm is investigating if more could and should have been done by Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to spot the problems and if an earlier decision to deliver by caesarean may have prevented baby Ella’s death.

Expert Opinion

“This is a very tragic situation and has understandably left the family devastated. They have serious concerns about the treatment they received in the 24 hours prior to the stillbirth and we are gathering expert medical evidence to find out exactly what happened and if more could have been done to prevent Ella’s death.

“A recent inquest involving another patient we represent revealed that 10 babies had died in ‘unexpected circumstances’ during a 12 month period at Warrington Hospital. So it is important that any issues are identified as soon as possible to prevent further heartache for other families.” Ayse Ince - Senior Associate Solicitor

Angela, from Warrington, said: “I’ve had a child before and although I understand all pregnancies are different, the pain I felt on that day was nothing I experienced first time around. I know what a ‘normal’ pregnancy feels like and I just knew something was wrong.

“I had to plead to stay on the ward as they wanted to send me home. You put your trust in health staff to make the right calls in these situations but I feel as though I was let down. I just hope that by taking legal action it will reveal what went wrong so that improvements can be made to stop this happening to others.

“No one should have to experience what we have and it has been incredibly difficult to come to terms with what happened.”

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in medical negligence claims or if you need help filing for a stillbirth claim then get in touch and our solicitors could help you.