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Find out what a difference clinical negligence compensation can make with Leona’s story.

Angela: So Leona was my first child. The pregnancy was perfectly normal, we went through with absolutely no problems. I got to 40 weeks and she was two weeks late so I'd gone in as usual to get induced and the morning after I'd been induced it became relevant quite quickly that Leona was in distress and her heart rate had dipped into the 20s. The midwives then called the obstetricians and decided that I didn't need a caesarean and they would wait and see what happened. That happened a couple of times and eventually they took me up to the delivery suite and said that if it happened once more they would send me for a caesarean. It did happen again, we went for a caesarean and Leona was born. She had to be ventilated. The paediatricians eventually arrived then they had to resuscitate her after the midwives and everyone else in the room couldn't do. She was resuscitated but then for a day or two she was actually having seizures constantly. They got her seizures under control but she was a very agitated baby, quite difficult really. She basically never stopped crying until eventually they got her medication right and then she calmed down. After she was discharged, we went to see the GP. She advised me that she would like a meeting with the consultants just to give her answers as well as us on what had gone wrong. The consultant refused to see Leona or myself for my check-up so that's when the GP said to me to go and see a solicitor. That's when I found Forbes where we had a free hour. We basically then got a phone call and that's when the case started. It took a few years, but since then our lives changed. We've got a house we can actually move in, we've got a garden because she likes being outside, we've got a summer garden which helps us bring the outside in when it's raining. She's got a bathroom which is all kitted out for her with a special bath, bedroom which has got lights all around and the tracking which makes it easy to move her. We've got two boys aged 9 and 11 and winning the case has helped us to make sure that their lives aren't affected as much as possible. We go on holidays a couple of times a year, it's enabled us to take Leona with us. We do go abroad, we do fly with her, it's not easy but we manage it and we can take help with us too.

Leonie: Leona has complex needs and the case has also assisted in buying aids and equipment including hoists to lift her as she's grown and various educational toys, it's paid for therapies, physiotherapy, speech and language and also assisted her with her educational needs to promote general wellbeing. The other ways that we have assisted are with the car, which means she can take carers and the whole family can go away together for trips and excursions and act as a family unit.

Angela: The whole process was made really easy. With a disabled child it's not easy to travel from office to office. Forbes came out to see us in our own home, once everything was signed they took over and have been with us every step of the way since.

Leonie: If you ever find yourself in this situation don't hesitate to give us a call. We can offer legal services commissioned funding which was previously Legal Aid, we have a strong team which are very experienced in dealing with these sensitive matters so please don't hesitate to pick up the phone or visit the website for further information.