Child M suffered brain injury following cardiac arrest after a heart operation

Four year old M suffered brain damage when he was extubated prematurely after surgery related to his congenital heart disease. Following the extubation he quickly deteriorated and collapsed – his parents initially sought legal help from another law firm but were advised that they did not have a case.

Our expert medical negligence lawyers investigated the case more thoroughly and discovered an issue with the medical equipment and the way in which M’s care was delivered.

Our approach

We argued that M should not have been extubated, and we also found there was a fault with a humidifier used during the procedure – there was a build up of secretions which then lead to the cardiac arrest.

The outcome

The hospital did not admit liability but despite this we were able to secure a payout of £1.5 million for M’s future care.

The case in detail

M was born with a serious form of congenital heart disease which required correction by open heart surgery. Following the surgery a decision was made to extubate M. Following the extubation he deteriorated and suddenly collapsed following which it became apparent that he had sustained brain damage. At the time he was only 4 years of age.

The claim was originally investigated by another firm of Solicitors but as they had received unsupportive evidence further work was not undertaken by them.

However, M’s parents then decided to contact the expert team to make further enquiries on M’s behalf. Detailed and extensive enquiries were then undertaken and it became apparent that the decision to extubate M should not have been made. Further there was a failure with the humidifier which was used causing a build up of secretions which then lead to the cardiac arrest following extubation which caused the permanent brain damage.

Initially no admissions were made by the Hospital and their legal team. However, despite the denial of liability it was possible to resolve M’s claim and following an approval hearing he was awarded £1.5 million.

The claim was understandably not without risk not least because those previously advising M abandoned the claim following receipt of expert evidence. M’s parents were understandably delighted that they were able to secure M’s future and did not give up fighting for the justice that M deserved.

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