Westwater Advocates’ Calum MacNeill QC represented Greater Glasgow Health Board in the proof recently decided by Lord Stewart who denied a £15 million claim for clinical negligence brought against it by a sufferer of cerebral palsy. Jill Clark had claimed her condition had been brought about by negligence of the midwifery and obstetric staff at the Queen Mother’s Maternity Hospital Yorkhill when managing her mother’s labour when giving birth to her in 1992. The pursuer’s older sister had been born by caesarean section but a senior obstetrician recommended that delivering the pursuer naturally should be tried. After slow progress, the decision was made to augment contractions by the careful administration of the synthetic hormone oxytocin. Tragically, however, the mother’s uterus ruptured and by the time the pursuer could be delivered by emergency caesarean she had suffered prolonged oxygen deprivation. After a seven-week proof Lord Stewart decided in a 78-page judgment published today that nothing the medical staff did could be described as negligent. After giving detailed consideration to the events of the night in question, in relation to the senior midwife on duty he said, “I will not entertain the allegation of negligence against [her].” In relation to the obstetrician on the ward he said the case against him, “must fail on the evidence. … [The] labour plan was a responsible one and … the labour was managed responsibly in accordance with the plan.”
Calum is a member of our Medical Law Group.