An 11-year-old boy suffered permanent brain damage after birth because of negligence by hospital midwives who then fabricated notes, a high court judge has ruled.
Jayden Astley’s challenges in life include deafness, motor impairments, cognitive difficulties and behavioural difficulties, his lawyers said.
After a five-day trial at the high court in Liverpool, Mr Justice Spencer ruled that staff at the Royal Preston hospital in Lancashire were negligent in their treatment of Jayden in 2012.
The brain injury was caused by prolonged umbilical cord compression that resulted in acute profound hypoxia – lack of oxygen – sustained during the management of the birth, the court found.
Midwives failed to accurately monitor Jayden’s heart rate when he was born and failed to identify his bradycardic, or slow, heart rate during delivery. The judge also found that some entries in notes were fabricated.
In his judgment Spencer said it was agreed that all permanent damage to Jayden’s brain would have been avoided if he had been delivered three minutes earlier.
“I have no doubt that, but for the breaches of duty which I have identified, that would have happened,” he said.
Lawyers for the Astley family said “inconsistent and inaccurate” birthing notes prolonged the legal process and distress for the family.
Trevor Ward, the family’s solicitor, said it had been a “traumatic and difficult journey” for the family.
“We very much welcome the judgment, which finds that Lancashire teaching hospitals were negligent in their care of Jayden during his birth at the Royal Preston hospital.”
He said the behaviour of midwives cited in the case was “deeply concerning”.
Ward continued: “One reason why Jayden’s case has taken so long to get to this point is that, as the judge makes clear, the midwives failed to take the appropriate actions to ensure Jayden’s safety, and fabricated their notes after the fact.
“We believe this is an urgent matter for the trust to examine.”
Ward said it was not the end of the case because the trial determined only breach of duty and causation.
“We now have work to do to agree the damages payable to Jayden for negligence, a process that is likely to take many more months.
“Jayden celebrated his 11th birthday on 22 July, so we very much hope to expedite this next stage in the legal process as fast as possible to bring closure for Jayden and his family.”
In his judgment, Spencer said recordings of the baby’s foetal heart rate “were inaccurate and, indeed, fabricated”.
In a statement, Lancashire teaching hospitals trust said it apologised unreservedly for the failings found by the court and offered “profound apologies” to Jayden and his family.
“The findings are concerning,” a spokesperson said. “There has been much work undertaken within maternity services since this occurred over a decade ago and appropriate action will be taken to respond to the findings of the judge.
“The trust hope that the judgment on liability will help Jayden to now arrange the future care and assistance he requires and will work with his legal team in relation to the assessment of damages and any care regime required.”
