Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust bosses admit 75% liability in case of Amelia Rayner, 7

Oct 27 2009 By Neil Atkinson

THE parents of a little girl left disabled as a result of medical mistakes at her birth have won a long legal battle.

The High Court ruling means Amelia Rayner’s parents – who had tried for years for a child – will now be offered cash by the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust to fund care for the rest of her life.

Amelia, of Hipperholme, who is now seven, suffers from a debilitating form of the motor disorder, known as spastic quadraparesis which affects all four of her limbs.

The damage to her brain has left her with major visual impairments, little effective voluntary movement, episodes of epilepsy and a severe learning and communication disability.

Lorraine McIntyre and her partner Andy Rayner instructed clinical negligence experts at Irwin Mitchell to pursue a civil claim in 2003 after their daughter Amelia was starved of oxygen and left with severe cerebral palsy at Calderdale Royal Hospital.

A liability settlement was approved at the Leeds High Court by Judge Grenfell, in which the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust accepted they were 75% responsible for causing Amelia’s brain damage.

Amelia will remain dependant on carers for the rest of her life and will never be able to work or live independently. She remains under the care of the child development unit at Calderdale Hospital.

Amelia’s solicitor, Rachelle Mahapatra, expert clinical negligence lawyer and partner at Irwin Mitchell, says that following the acceptance of liability by the hospital’s NHS Trust funds can be secured for Amelia’s long-term care.

"We are now in a position to negotiate a financial settlement which will provide vital support for all of Amelia’s future care requirements.

"Her family will be able to find care and equipment that Amelia needs to help her lead as full and as comfortable life as possible."