No amount of money can ever fully compensate victims of medical disasters, but you need to have an eye to the future and should not be deterred from seeking legal advice. In one case, the four children of a young mother who died in hospital shortly after giving birth to twins won £175,000 in damages from the NHS.
The woman had suffered from pre-eclampsia, a condition that causes heightened blood pressure, in the latter stages of her pregnancy. Her circulation collapsed soon after her twins were delivered and she could not be resuscitated. She was aged just 30 when she died and her two older children were approaching their teens.
The NHS trust that managed the hospital denied liability, arguing that it had cared for the mother appropriately. However, it agreed to a financial settlement of the case following negotiations with the children’s lawyers. In approving the compromise, the Court paid tribute to the mother’s sister, who had stepped in to care for the children following the family tragedy.