14 July 2023
Sophie McConnell a paralegal in the Clinical Negligence Department looks at material contribution.
What is Material Contribution?
In order for a Clinical Negligence claim to be successful, the Claimant must prove that the Defendant was negligent in their treatment or care. A Defendant can be responsible for an injury if it can be proven that they materially contributed to the Claimant sustaining the injury. This means that even if the Defendant’s negligence was not the sole cause, or even the most significant, the claim can still succeed.
An example of Material Contribution
A recent, and one of the most important judgements of recent times is the case of CNZ v Royal Bath Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Another [2023]. This involved the argument of material contribution following a birth injury.
The Claimant was born at 01:03 on 3rd February 1996 by cesarean section, one hour after her twin sister was born vaginally. The Claimant suffers from quadriplegic cerebral palsy which was caused by acute profound hypoxic ischaemia (APHI) suffered whilst in the womb and following delivery.
The Claimant’s case was that her mother had requested an earlier caesarean section and if it had been carried out, she would have avoided the injury she suffered. However, the Defendant’s argued that they acted reasonably in carrying out a caesarean section when they did, and there was no negligent delay.
It was proven that the Claimant should have been born by 00:56. If she had been born by 00:55, she would have avoided all injury, and if birth had occurred between 00:56 and 01:01, this would have led to less serious injuries. It was concluded that the APHI lasted a total of 16 minutes, the first 10 of which were unlikely to have contributed to the brain injury. However, the further 6.5-minute delay materially contributed to the Claimant’s brain injury, and she was entitled to recover 100% of the damage caused by the PHI she suffered.
This case is a landmark decision regarding birth injury claims where delivery could have occurred as little as 1-2 minutes sooner.
Can TRUE assist you?
Material contribution is relevant not only to birth injury claims, but to any claim where the degree of exposure to damaging effects is likely to lead to a worse outcome, e.g sepsis or cauda equina.
If you believe that you have received negligent treatment or care which has resulted in an injury, you may succeed in a claim for clinical negligence. True Solicitors LLP may be able to assist you in accessing the compensation you deserve.
Our experienced clinical negligence solicitors will be able to advise if have a potential claim. They will be on hand to offer advice and guide you through the process should you decide to proceed.
If you would like a free initial, no obligation assessment, call 0344 854 7000 to discuss your case.
