BLOG: Rachel Donovan says errors in child birth make up half the negligence claims against the NHS

The annual report claims that the number of claims made against the NHS rose by 11% last year.

Half of all clinical negligence claims involve maternity treatment according to the new figures. Errors during birth can lead to lifelong disabilities and payouts affect the amount of care needed by victims of NHS maternity failures.

I do a lot of work against maternity hospitals and only a small percentage of that work relates to brain injuries sustained following birth.

I find a lot of my work relates to mistakes caused by human carelessness.

By this, I mean incorrectly stitching tears and Caesarean wounds, leaving stitches and other materials, such as swabs inside and also failure to perform correct examinations or ignore obvious symptoms either the mother or baby may be exhibiting.

I was recently instructed by a client in relation to the birth of her son in 2005.

In pursuing the claim, I obtained the mother's medical records from a local maternity hospital which included the delivery note.

Following the birth, my client sustained a large tear and following this, a clinical incident form was completed.

I was concerned to note that the doctor performing the delivery blamed the tear on blunt scissors and, in fact, the doctor made a note that he had to use blunt scissors again and how this was a persistent issue within this trust.

It would seem from the contents of the clinical incident report form that the reviewing doctors were insinuating that this was a recurring problem which they had raised before and unfortunately had not been dealt with causing my client to sustain a serious injury during childbirth.

In February 2009, the NHS Litigation Authority predicted that premiums paid in clinical negligence cases would double next year and as a result of concerns that litigation costs are eating into valuable NHS funds, Lord Justice Jackson is currently reviewing the system. He will look at whether civil litigation fees are proportionate and the review results are set to be revealed later in 2009.

I do believe that the Government's inaction on clinical negligence legislation is not helping to reduce the cost of clinical negligence claims.

The Government have again failed to implement legislation intended to aid victims of NHS negligence and according to The Independent, the Department of Health has failed to produce the necessary secondary legislation to make the 2006 NHS Redress Act operational, while the Welsh and Scottish authorities have both set up plans to set up similar schemes.

Based on recommendations made by the Chief Medical Officer in 2003, the Act would largely eliminate the need for lawyers for claims under £20,000. It is designed to provide investigations, remedial treatment, rehabilitation and care for patients, as well as financial compensation in certain circumstances.

* Rachel is head of clinical negligence at John Pickering & Partners