Parents seek damages over ‘forceps misuse’
A distraught Lincolnshire couple have launched a claim for
compensation against a northern hospital after their son was left
blind in one eye following the 'misuse' of forceps.
As Xavier Cutillo entered the world, doctors at Scunthorpe
General Hospital needed forceps to aid his delivery. However,
Xavier's left eye was severely damaged during the incident and his
skull fractured by the doctor's actions.
On the 21st December 2009, Xavier's mother was admitted for
delivery. She had a long labour and staff made an attempt to
deliver Xavier by ventouse suction cup. After the
first attempt proved unsuccessful, the doctor treating her tried a
further seven times to deliver the baby the same way; it is advised
that no more than three attempts should be made to deliver a baby
using this method.
Following the incident, further medical examinations concluded
that nothing could be done to save Xavier's eye, while he may yet
still suffer brain damage in the coming years. As a result, his
parents felt the need to instruct solicitors to file a claim for
medical negligence.
"My son will have to live with the consequences of this for the
rest of his life," said Xavier's mother. "The whole experience has
been extremely traumatic for both me and Xavier's father Daniel;
we've been left physically and emotionally traumatised.
"We don't know yet if he will ever be able to see out of his
left eye and he could also be brain damaged. We have to wait and
see.
"Having a baby is meant to be one of the happiest days of your
life but for us it was a complete nightmare."
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust,
representing Scunthorpe General Hospital, has announced a full
investigation into the circumstances surrounding Xavier's
injuries.