In September 2025, the High Court determined that the systemic failures and clinical delays by the treating hospital caused a child’s cerebral palsy. The claimant found that there was substandard monitoring, delayed medical assessment and decision‑to‑delivery, and an unsafe induction at a facility without a functional theatre despite the MEC’s denial of negligence and an “unpreventable sentinel event” defence.
The claimant’s experts identified two critical delays: A 95‑minute delay before a doctor assessed the claimant despite signs of concern, and an additional delay when the emergency caesarean could not be performed due to lack of electricity, necessitating transfer to a different facility. They highlighted the failure to use CTG for a high‑risk, post‑dates induced labour contrary to national guidelines, and a decision‑to‑delivery interval of over two hours, well beyond the one‑hour guideline.
The experts for the MEC accepted that the injury pattern was acute profound hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy but argued it likely occurred in the final 30 to 40 minutes before birth, possibly due to an unrecognised sentinel event. However, experts for the MEC conceded that: The 95‑minute delay was unreasonable; the theatre at the initial facility was not operational; induction should not occur where an emergency caesarean cannot be performed; and had the caesarean been done within an hour of the decision, the brain injury probably would have been avoided.
The court found that monitoring and management were substandard because there was no CTG for a high-risk induction, the medical review was delayed, and the induction took place in an unsafe setting without a functional 24-hour theatre. There were material, preventable delays, including the time from the first signs of concern around 01:45 to the doctor’s review at 03:20, as well as a decision-to-delivery interval of over two hours due to the need for transfer to a different facility.
Applying the reasonable practitioner standard and maternity guidelines, the court found that the hospital and staff were negligent. Had the caesarean section been performed in time at the initial facility, the child’s brain injury and resulting cerebral palsy would probably have been avoided. Therefore, even if there was an unexpected event during labour, the main cause of the injury was the earlier negligent conduct by the hospital staff brought on by a delay in assessing the claimant, a delay in the decision to perform a caesarean section, and the non-functional theatre at the initial facility.
The MEC was held liable for all the claimant’s proven or agreed damages.
This judgment underscores the importance of adhering to maternity care guidelines and reflects the courts’ treatment of systemic resource failures and operational breakdowns as negligence when obstetric care is delayed.