Hospital eventually settles after causing lifetime birth injury

A wrongly sited episiotomy and prolonged second stage of labour caused Lara* lifetime faecal incontinence issues, for which the trust responsible denied liability.

Lara was a first-time mother who had an uneventful pregnancy. She arrived at hospital and was found to be in established labour. She then got to a point where her labour was not progressing as expected, and was given oxytocin to augment labour.

When the cervix becomes fully dilated, it is common practice to allow at least an hour for the baby to descend passively down the birth canal before the mother starts active pushing. Due to an error by the medical and midwifery staff, Lara was left in the second stage of labour for six hours before starting to actively push. She was unable to push the baby out and it was decided to use forceps. 

An episiotomy was carried out to facilitate delivery. Once her baby was born, her perineum was examined and sutured. She was discharged having been told everything had gone well.

After a few days, Lara felt that she had no control over passing urine, and subsequently, began to lack control over passing wind and stool. This continued for several weeks before she was eventually referred to the colorectal clinic. Tests were carried out which showed a defect in Lara’s anal sphincter area. She underwent some therapies in the hope that these would resolve her faecal urgency and inability to control passing flatus. 

None of these therapies worked and at that point she contacted Tees. 

Lara wrote an email of complaint to the NHS Trust which replied with a letter of apology, advising her that the episiotomy had been wrongly sited. Experts were instructed and a Letter of Claim was sent to the Defendant NHS Trust.

Gwyneth Munjoma, Medical Negligence Senior Associate with Tees, said: "If injury to the anal sphincter is not recognised and appropriately repaired immediately following delivery,repair at a later date is rarely curative. The result is that the woman has to live with an injury which physically impacts on her womanhood, family life, social life and employment. In addition, these women’s entire lives are psychologically affected by the injury of such a sensitive and intimate part of the body."

There were problems getting the defendant to admit liability despite the letter of apology and this further affected the client psychologically. Despite its denial of liability, the defendant NHS Trust made an offer to settle the claim. We negotiated a six-figure settlement and the case was successfully settled.

Speaking of her approach to the case, Gwyneth says: "As well as my legal training, I have a background in midwifery. With that knowledge, I am able to effectively partner the client bringing in a great deal of knowledge, empathy and understanding throughout the journey of her claim." 

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of our clients.