Woman's £5m pay-out over birth blunder

A WOMAN reduced to life in a wheelchair following a hospital blunder during her birth received a £5 million compensation pay-out at London's High Court.

Zoe Blair, now 30, of London Road suffered sever brain damage immediately prior to her birth at South Shields Maternity Hospital in February 1974.

Zoe, who is confined to a wheelchair with "severe" motor problems, was in court today with her mother, Rosemary, to witness the end of her long battle for compensation as the multi-million pound settlement was approved by Judge Linda Dobbs QC, sitting at the High Court.

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Mrs Blair became pregnant with Zoe in 1973, and was given a delivery date for the birth of February 20, 1974.

However, two weeks before term, the expectant mother was admitted to hospital where a CTG scan revealed abnormalities in the foetal heart rate.

Zoe was born eight days prematurely, on February 12, and suffered oxygen starvation to her brain immediately prior to delivery - leading to severe brain damage and cerebral palsy.

As a result of the serious nature of her disabilities, Zoe has "severe" mobility difficulties, is confined to a wheelchair and will require a high level of care for the rest of her live, said her barrister, Simeon Maskrey QC.

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Sydney Chawatamba, for Gateshead and South Tyneside NHS Trust, today offered an apology to the family. He said: "Prior to legal proceedings being issued, the Health Authority undertook a careful review of the circumstances surrounding Zoe's birth.

"As a result of those investigations, a full admission of liability was made in April 2003 and the authority offered their sincere apologies to Zoe and her family for the failings in the standard of care given to Mrs Blair at the time.

"The representatives for both the NHS Trust and the family have since directed all their efforts into establishing Zoe's needs with a view to settling this claim as soon as possible and we are pleased that this has been achieved.

"We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the apologies made previously to the Blair family and to wish them well for the future."

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Lawyers for both sides will now consider the possibility of paying part of the damages into a "structured" investment fund, designed to guarantee Zoe a secure, index-linked and tax free income to meet her care costs for life.

Mrs Blair declined to comment on the settlement outside court.