The payout was made to the parents of a baby who died at an elite private hospital after sustaining severe and preventable brain injuries.
Diane and Andreas Kolbe, from West London, paid £15,000 for Diane to give birth at The Portland Hospital, where Meghan Markle had given birth to son Archie just months before.
Andreas is a 43-year-old bank analyst investment research analyst. Diane, 37 years old, was a French teacher.
Baby Raphael sustained catastrophic brain injuries after medics failed to notice there was no trace of a heartbeat
“It was safer to have an induction planned because Louis was large and hard to give birth. Diane said that she wasn’t concerned about inducing labor.
They said that they had been’relax’ during the time leading up to Raphael, their second son’s birth on 8/9/2019.
A midwife who had been working with children for 20 years, removed a 30-minute-old heart monitor from his mother’s abdomen at 3:00 in the afternoon.
It was found that there were no signs of Raphael’s heartbeat when it was reattached.
His umbilical cord had been cut, cutting off vital oxygen to his brain.
Kolbe replied, “Later we recalled something the midwife said about being capable of giving birth without her eyes closing. That was quite an absurd statement and the truth is that it wasn’t.
Diane and Andreas Kolbe opted for an induced birth following complications during the delivery of their first child Louis at The Portland in 2016
Raphael must be continuously monitored. If a belt is not possible, a handheld device could have been used.
Around the time Mrs Kolbe needed pain relief from her epidural, the cardiotocography strap (CTG) was taken off.
The baby died shortly after being delivered. He was then revived, and taken to the hospital’s Neo-natal ICU. There staff chilled Raphael in order to minimize brain damage caused by oxygen starvation.
After he was stabilized, he was rushed to the Neonatal Unit at NHS Royal London Hospital Whitechapel. He received scans that confirmed that a severe amount of brain damage had occurred.
Raphael was born full term at three-and-half kilos and died soon after his life support was taken off.
Famous celebrities and the Royals love Portland Hospital in London’s West End.
The Portland’s childbirth packages start from £15,000 and can cost up to £20,000
His parents moved him to a more convenient hospital, where he died six weeks later.
“We were told by his mother that Raphael would be in distress if the heart monitoring device for cardiotocography had not been worn continuously.” “He would have been delivered instantly.”
After Raphael’s death, Mrs Kolbe continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. She hasn’t been able to go back to work in three years.
Now, she is seven months pregnant. She will give birth in an NHS hospital.
She stated that she was unable to have another baby because of the things she had been through. Raphael is a name we will always remember.
Portland is a famous place for royal and celeb births. However, it has also been victim to other fatalities. These led to the deaths of two mothers with one grieving husband being awarded £750,000 compensation.
Premier League star Jake Livermore, who was a Premier League superstar in 2014, lost his baby boy to heart failure.
After 3 years of litigation, Mr. and Mrs. Kolbe finally reached an agreement with HCA Healthcare to run the hospital. This was in February 2022 before any court proceedings.
HCA lawyers were working closely with their lawyers from London’s Leigh Day since April 2020.
A year-long investigation was conducted into Raphael’s death. The investigations lasted from 5 December 2019 to 5 February 2021.
His medical causes of death were determined to be respiratory failure and severe hypoxic encephalopathy neonatal.
The exclusive London hospital said it has ‘implemented learning’ since the events in 2019
Lydia Brown, West London Coroner stated in her conclusion that the condition of Lydia Brown during induced labor was not properly monitored after 1500 hours. This also happened not during the resiting epidural.
A cord prolapse was a condition that caused cord compression, spasm, and a hypoxic brain injury. This resulted in unsurvivable.
“Premature recognition of an obstetrical emergency would have enabled immediate delivery. It is possible to achieve a completely different result.
“During the course of the inquiry, the evidence showed matters giving cause to concern” and the coroner stated that it was possible for future deaths to occur if no action is taken.
Angharad, Leigh Day’s lawyer for the couple, stated that Raphael’s death was a totally preventable tragedy and occurred at London’s top private maternity hospital.
“While Raphael died at an early stage of his life, it was not able to admit liability. However, due to its obstruction, it took 20 more months to settle the legal claims. This only increased the distress for Andreas and Diane.
The Portland spokesperson said that the Hospital had done a detailed investigation and implemented what it learned.
“Patient safety and security are our top priority. We will continue to train and audit staff and ensure that there is a culture where people can learn from any incidents.