Girl Injured in Medical Negligence Case Receives £5.6 Million in Damages

A 13 year old girl who was severely injured during birth has been awarded £5.6 million in compensation, payable by South Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Alice Joyce was born on 23 March 1996 at Wycombe General Hospital with breathing difficulties, and later developed fits whilst in the Special Care Baby Unit. Her development was delayed and she was later diagnosed as having spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. As a result Alice suffers from severely delayed mental development and learning difficulties.

Were it not for medical negligence on the part of the doctors responsible for Alice’s mother’s care, all this could have been avoided. Doctors failed to inform Mrs Joyce that, due to a previous birth which involved caesarean delivery, there was a risk of rupture of the womb should she have a subsequent labour and vaginal delivery. If she had been warned of this risk she would have chosen to have a second caesarean delivery, thus avoiding the risk of labour.

The family’s solicitor, Helen Niebuhr, of Oxford based medical negligence solicitors Darbys, commented, "The amount of money she (Alice) has received seems huge, but it is required to pay for the care and equipment Alice will need for the rest of her life. Her family would prefer that she had never needed to make this claim and was a normal 13 year old girl looking forward to her future as she should have been. The award will provide security for her for the rest of her life.”

Speaking after the compensation amount was awarded, Mr Chris Joyce, Alice’s father, commented, "We would like to take this opportunity to thank Alice’s older sister for all the love and support she gives to her and to us. We would also like to thank Helen Niebuhr and the legal team at Darbys for their commitment to our case and continued support.”

Darbys Solicitors are recognised as medical negligence specialists by Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA). Helen Niebuhr is willing to undertake interviews or provide further information; please contact Jane Reeve on 01865 811218 or visit their website: http://www.darbysmedicalnegligence.co.uk/.

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Jane Reeve

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Darbys Solicitors LLP

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