The organisation also provides an excellent network of highly qualified and experienced lawyers, whom we can turn to should someone have been unfortunate enough to suffer injury in another country through no fault of their own. As our Travel Team at Blake Lapthorn knows only too well, such contacts are invaluable to ensure that those individuals are able to secure the rehabilitation and compensation they need and deserve, to enable them to return to their former lifestyle as fully and as quickly as possible. 

I was even more fortunate last week to be able to attend the first conference arranged between PEOPIL and AAJ (The American Association for Justice). The Conference was entitled Birth Trauma Litigation Seminar and was held at The Grand Hotel in Amsterdam (I digress, but the hotel certainly lives up to its name – breakfast and beds to die for!).

The Seminar focused upon the most current thinking in medical terms about the most likely causes of injuries sustained at or shortly after birth, whether some of these causes are preventable and the warning signs that treating clinicians need to be alert to and the steps that need to be taken to avoid often life-changing injury or worse. We were also able to learn about the way that differing countries in the EU or in the States deal with these issues from a legal perspective, and their approach as to when compensation should be available and how the level of compensation should be calculated.

Sadly due to flight availability, I was only able to stay at the Conference until the Friday evening. I have been working with  clients who have suffered injury, following  or as a result of some form of medical treatment/failure to give the correct medical treatment, since I qualified as a solicitor at Blake Lapthorn 7 years ago, but I can honestly say that I learnt something new from each and every one of the speakers on Friday. Whether it be in terms of new medical knowledge and diagnostic tools; new ways of presenting an individual’s life expectancy to ensure that they receive sufficient compensation to last them for their full lifespan, taking into account new medical advances and the care that can and should be made available to them; or the way in which different countries or states deal with the recoverability of damages in these claims, all of the lectures increased my own personal knowledge to enable me to act in all of my clients very best interests.

I am only sorry that I was not able to stay on to hear the lectures delivered on Saturday, as looking through the programme, I am sure that this was bound to be repeated.

Whilst I cannot speak highly enough of all of the speakers on Friday, special mention has to be given to Janet Rennie, Consultant neonatologist at UCL, who gave a fascinating seminar on the difficulties encountered and tools available to determine whether or not an injury can be linked to the treatment received at the time of the child’s birth; and Malcolm Levene, neonatologist at Leeds, who gave a brilliant and highly informative seminar on the causes of stroke in babies. Both talks were highly relevant to current cases that I am investigating and I may well be in touch shortly…

Frances Cowan, Expert in paediatric neurology (Imperial College London) also gave me an enlightening insight into the interpretation of MRI scans, which, as a lawyer, rather than a medic, have remained something of a mystery to me! 

The Dutch Legal system seems to have an excellent approach in the way that they look to award damages to individuals to try best to “put them in the position that they would have been in, had the proven negligence not occurred” and our courts could look to Carolien van Weering (and the Dutch courts) for a clear explanation as to how this should work in wrongful birth cases. Our colleagues in the USA also provided insight into very well-reasoned arguments as to why the way in which the courts and Government actuary tables in the UK calculate future care needs, may result in damages awards that fall woefully short for the individuals’ needs.

Additionally, from a personal and professional point of view, I had the pleasure of meeting colleagues practising in the UK who strive to achieve the same goals for our clients that I do.

My primary feeling on leaving the conference, although rather earlier than I would have wished, was that as both medical practitioners and clinical negligence lawyers acting for children and adults who have suffered injury as a consequence of circumstances surrounding their birth or in the earliest months of their lives, we all share the same passion for helping those individuals to ensure that they have the best access to rehabilitation and care so that they can live their lives with the greatest degree of fulfilment possible.    

I sincerely hope that another conference arranged between PEOPIL and AAJ will not be far away, and that this time I shall be lucky enough to attend the full event!



Kym Provan

Senior Solicitor - Clinical Negligence Team