Two major Nottinghamshire NHS trusts have settled claims worth more than £66 million over failings that led to cerebral palsy in patients. Both trusts face costs on average of £3 million per case plus legal fees over incidents over the last decade.
Cerebral palsy affects movement and co-ordination and is caused by a problem with the brain which the NHS says develops before, during or soon after birth. A Freedom of Information request to the NHS by Lime Solicitors has shown that between the 2012/13 and 2022/23 financial years, NUH and SFHT settled claims worth £66,965,941 in damages and £9,948,729 in legal fees.
"The regularity of maternity ward scandals in the press is alarming, yet wholly unsurprising; negligent injuries resulting in cerebral palsy should not take place and we know the lessons that should have been learned, but unfortunately time and time again, the same mistakes are made. A spokesperson for NUH said: "We always strive to provide the best possible care to all our patients. However, we do recognise some patients and families have received care below the standard that they rightly expect, impacting their lives, and for that we apologise. We are committed to continual improvements in the care offered to our patients, and ensuring that learning is implemented across our hospitals.