Girl Injured by Forceps During Birth to Receive £3 Million

By Brittany Golledge

Published on October 05, 2005

The young girl, Beninah Otunga -- age 12, sustained a skull fracture and damage to the frontal lobe of her brain after doctors used forceps on her head during delivery. Though she is physically normal, her mental function is currently that of a nine-year-old. According to her barrister, she will be unable to hold down a job and will require care for the rest of her life.

Representatives of the Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority have since apologized for events that occurred during the delivery. The Health Authority has openly admitted that the quality of care Otunga received during her birth was below a proper standard. The Health Authority will be responsible for the £3 million in damages, which will go toward Beninah's long-term care.

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