§ PUBLISHED JUDGMENT · 2024

MHE v Wye Valley NHS Trust

[2024] EWHC 25 (KB)·High Court (King's Bench Division)·11 January 2024

The baby's shoulders became stuck during delivery and manoeuvres failed, so she was deprived of oxygen and left with cerebral palsy; the Trust admitted in 2012 that it failed to deliver her with sufficient or safe speed. The court approved a settlement of about £5.56m plus lifelong periodical payments.

Outcome

Settlement approved

Sum stated in judgment

£5,557,500

Claim type

Cerebral Palsy

Decided

Settlement approved by the court

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§ WHAT HAPPENED

The facts, in brief.

Defendant: Wye Valley NHS Trust · this trust’s claims data

Injury: Shoulder dystocia at birth in July 2009 with delayed delivery causing hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and cerebral palsy, with memory, motor and speech impairments and seizure risk

Specialty: Obstetrics · England

§ WHAT THE COURT SAID

In the judgment’s own words.

“Therefore, I find that this settlement is in the claimant's best interests. On that basis I approve the settlement under CPR 21.10.”

The money

Gross lump sum £5,557,500 (net £4,907,500 after £650,000 interim payments) plus periodical payments of £57,500 pa from Dec 2024, £110,000 pa from Dec 2028 and £144,000 pa for life from Dec 2039, indexed to ASHE 6115 ([18]-[19]).

§ WHY IT MATTERS

What this case shows.

Shoulder dystocia claims are not only about arm injuries; a prolonged delay in freeing the baby can cause brain injury, and damages then reflect lifelong care needs. Approval judgments like this are one of the few public sources showing what such settlements are worth.

About cerebral palsy claims →

§ MORE CEREBRAL PALSY JUDGMENTS

Claimant succeeded

CCC (by her mother and litigation friend MMM) v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

[2026] UKSC 5·2026·Appeal decision

A child left profoundly disabled by negligence at birth was refused 'lost years' damages for earnings she would have made in the years her injury cut from her life, because a 1982 Court of Appeal case barred such awards to young children. The Supreme Court (Lady Rose dissenting) overruled that rule and sent the case back for the lost-years loss to be assessed.

Claimants injured as young children whose life expectancy has been shortened can now claim for earnings in the 'lost years', on the same principles as adults. This can add substantially to catastrophic injury awards.

Claim failed

LMN (a protected party, by his mother and litigation friend PQR) v Swansea Bay University Health Board

[2025] EWHC 3402 (KB)·2025·Liability decided at trial

The claimant alleged the registrar at the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, delayed delivery after a pathological CTG in a labour complicated by pre-eclampsia and an impacted fetal head. The judge found the plan of fetal blood sampling, attempted forceps and then caesarean met the standards of the day and dismissed the claim.

A poor outcome after a difficult delivery is not enough; the claimant must show specific decisions fell below acceptable practice at the time and that earlier action would have avoided the injury. The material contribution argument does not help if no negligent cause of delay is proved.

Settlement approved£5.75M

AXA (a child, by her father and litigation friend MXA) v Airedale NHS Foundation Trust

[2024] EWHC 2499 (KB)·2024·Settlement approved by the court

A child born in April 2019 after an induced labour suffered fetal bradycardia and a brain injury; the Trust admitted the clinical failures by letter in April 2021. The court approved a settlement of a £5.75m lump sum plus lifelong index-linked periodical payments, worth about £16.7m in total.

Serious cerebral palsy claims are usually settled as a lump sum plus annual periodical payments for care, so the headline total depends on how long the child lives. Before approving a deal for a child the judge checks it sits within the range a court would have awarded.

All cerebral palsy judgments →

Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0. Judgments from Find Case Law, The National Archives. Summaries are ours; amounts only where printed in the judgment.

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