The birth of a child should be wonderful, but for our client who lost her son when a positive test for Group B Streptoccus (GBS) was overlooked, that was sadly not the case.
We supported Carly* to get answers when her newborn baby tragically contracted Group B Strep (GBS) and died.
Our specialist solicitors were able to assess the evidence and show that if the results of GBS tests undertaken on Carly before labour had been properly logged, it is likely her baby would have survived.
While nothing could adequately compensate Carly for the pain of her loss, we helped her to get the answers she needed over what went wrong and negotiated a five-figure settlement to help her, and her family, move forward.
Carly had been suffering from urinary tract infections and stomach pains throughout her pregnancy. Despite numerous tests, no group B Strep had been recorded.
Two days before Carly went into labour, she experienced abdominal pains and went to the hospital to have them checked. During this visit, a further test for infection was done, but her records do not show that this was passed to the laboratory. She was discharged after two days in the hospital, but her waters broke soon after and she was readmitted.
Carly’s son was born in good condition the next day and at first there was no cause for alarm. Later that day it became apparent that he was having difficulty breathing and he was transferred to Intensive Care.
It was at this point that the results of the blood test taken two days earlier appeared and confirmed Carly had tested positive for GBS. Sadly, by the time this had been discovered her baby was so poorly the decision had to be made not to resuscitate him.
Our legal team led by Claire Stoneman and Adele Wilde were able to successfully argue that if the sample taken before Carly went into labour had been logged properly, the results would have been chased. It would have been realised earlier that Carly was carrying GBS and it is likely her son would have survived.
*Name changed
