‘Lyndsey’ 39

Lyndsey made a difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy of one of her twins when brain abnormalities were picked up on, on an antenatal scan. In the following days, there was a delay in identifying symptoms of a maternal infection which resulted in the death of the second twin.

Nadia Valentine, a solicitor in JMW’s Clinical Negligence team, was able to secure a £36,500 settlement for Lyndsey, which will help with ongoing psychological support following the ordeal.

Difficult decisions

Lyndsey was pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, however during a routine anomaly scan, it was found that the male twin had a significant brain abnormality. Doctors advised Lyndsey that his quality of life would be extremely limited, with a shortened life expectancy.

Following careful discussions with a consultant about options, Lyndsey agreed to undergo a selective feticide, a procedure to end the pregnancy of the male baby while remaining pregnant with the healthy female baby.

Lyndsey was advised of the risks, including infection, which could pose a serious threat to both her and the remaining healthy baby if not identified promptly.

What went wrong?

Two days after the procedure Lyndsey returned to hospital for an ultrasound scan to check on the healthy baby. She reported feeling unwell, with uterine tightening and pain. She was also noted to have a high heart rate.

Despite these symptoms, her concerns were attributed to the recent selective feticide procedure. She was given pain relief and discharged.

The following day, she attended the maternity unit with severe abdominal pain, contractions and vaginal bleeding. Sadly, midwives and doctors were unable to detect a heartbeat for the female baby and a scan confirmed that she had sadly died.

Lyndsey was then induced for vaginal delivery of both babies.

Subsequent findings confirmed that the healthy twin’s death was caused by an undiagnosed infection following the feticide procedure.

JMW’s investigations

Lyndsey contacted JMW as she felt that her symptoms were dismissed and that this dismissal caused the healthy baby to be stillborn.

Nadia Valentine took on the case and secured a full admission of liability from the Trust. It was admitted that there was a failure to refer Lyndsey to the maternity unit for a full clinical assessment when she came in for her ultrasound scan two days after the procedure.

It was also admitted that had this happened, a full clinical assessment would have led to suspicion of infection, caused by the procedure. Delivery by way of caesarean section would have been offered to Lyndsay and her baby girl would have been born alive.

Given the significant emotional impact of her loss, Nadia obtained expert evidence from a consultant psychiatrist. This confirmed that Lyndsey developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a bereavement reaction as a direct result of the events.

Settlement secured

Nadia was able to reach a settlement of £36,500 which will help Lyndsey receive ongoing psychological support and allow her to create lasting memorials for her twins.