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£2.8m Payout for Preventable Stillbirth Tragedy
24 Jun
Summary
- A £2.8m settlement was awarded in a stillbirth clinical negligence case.
- An external review found Harriet's death was almost certainly preventable.
- Other healthcare regulators are investigating individual staff at the trust.
A family received a £2.8 million settlement, the largest known payout for a stillbirth clinical negligence case, following a critical external review. The review concluded that Harriet Hawkins's death in April 2016 was "almost certainly preventable".
Harriet's parents, Sarah and Jack Hawkins, who were employed by the trust at the time, initiated an external review after an initial hospital assessment found "no obvious fault". This review, published in January 2019, identified numerous failings within the trust's care.
The couple also detailed the distressing condition of their daughter's body after it had been poorly handled by the trust. Healthcare regulators, including the General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council, are currently investigating allegations against individual NUH staff.
