Withy King's Clinical Negligence experts have received formal court approval of agreed damages worth £4.4 million on behalf of a 12-year-old boy left severely disabled due to medical negligence.
Macauley Joyce was left with spastic cerebral palsy and learning difficulties after both a GP, and a community midwife, failed to refer his mother to hospital after she developed a life-threatening medical condition when the family lived in Thatcham, near Newbury in 1995.
Yesterday's settlement, which was approved in the Royal Courts of Justice, follows an earlier admission of liability by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, and GP Dr Jonathan Hayward.
Withy King took on the case in 2003 with the firm’s head of Clinical Negligence team Simon Elliman personally taking over conduct of the case in 2004
"We are delighted to have brought this demanding case to such a successful conclusion for Macauley,” said Simon, partner at Withy King, whose team represents cases of this type nationally.
“Withy King continues to represent many clients who have cerebral palsy as a result of injuries sustained at the time of birth, and we will persevere in obtaining maximum damages for such clients, in order to ensure that they are properly provided for in the future."
Macauley, who now lives with his mother Susan Joyce near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, is dependent on a wheelchair to get around and will need care for the rest of his life.
"The court case has taken several years to settle but after many appointments, assessments and much determination, I feel I can now start to live a normal family life, knowing that Macauley is fully provided for,” said Mrs Joyce.
“I would like to thank Macauley's legal team for all their hard work and commitment during the case, and thank Macauley for not giving up on life twelve years ago. He has made us so much stronger."
The basis of the negligence claim is that a local community midwife employed by the NHS Trust failed to refer Macauley’s mother to hospital after she developed severe pre-eclampsia at 26 weeks of pregnancy.
Her general practitioner, Dr Jonathan Hayward, who was then practising from the Thatcham Group Practice, Thatcham, also failed to refer Susan Joyce to hospital for further investigation.
Susan Joyce was finally referred to hospital when she was 27 weeks pregnant where Macauley was born prematurely after an emergency caesarean operation.
Medical experts instructed by Macauley’s solicitors concluded that had Macauley been referred to hospital earlier, doctors would have recognised foetal distress and intervened before he suffered oxygen starvation.
That view was confirmed by medical experts appointed by the Trust and Dr Hayward also, so liability was admitted by both defendants.
Macauley will receive a lump sum of £1.8 million followed by annual payments for the rest of his life, which will provide for his care and equipment needs.
Withy King solicitors, who recently merged with Oxford law firm Marshall & Galpin, is one of the UK’s leading birth injury practices, and enjoys close links with SCOPE, the cerebral palsy charity.
Simon Elliman specialises in birth injury and cerebral palsy claims, cases of delayed diagnosis of cancer, fatal claims and dental negligence cases.
He is a member of the Law Society's specialist Clinical Negligence Panel, and the Referral Panel of Action Against Medical Accidents, reflecting his experience and expertise in clinical negligence cases.
