Hospital apologises after baby's death.

A hospital trust has apologised and paid compensation for negligence after a baby died following a cut to his skull during an emergency Caesarean section.

The baby, Carson Allen, died three hours after being born at Nottingham City Hospital in July 2013.

An inquest in 2014 recorded a verdict of accidental death, with the coroner criticising the hospital trust for its own "woefully inadequate" investigation.

The inquest heard that, during the caesarean, doctors pierced a soft part of Carson’s skull while cutting into the wall of his mother’s womb with a scalpel.

His mother, Claire Smith, who also has an 18-year-old son and 22-year-old daughter, only found out she was pregnant at 27 weeks in June 2013.

In October 2011, she had a procedure which is known to cause complications if a woman is to become pregnant again.

This operation should have alerted doctors to her latest pregnancy being high-risk but the inquest heard there were several missed opportunities to check Claire Smith’s medical records properly.

Nottingham City Hospital accepted that Claire Smith was not properly advised of the risks involved with a pregnancy following the procedure in question and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has now settled a clinical negligence claim and agreed to pay the family an undisclosed sum.

The baby’s mother, Claire Smith, said she found only during the post-mortem examination that the cut to her son's head was caused by a scalpel and described the hospital's care as "absolutely horrendous."

She said: "As if losing my baby wasn't enough, I have been put through hell fighting for the reassurance that I could not have prevented my baby son's death.

"It has been the worst experience of my life and I doubt my family will ever get over our loss."

The trust’s head of service for obstetrics and gynaecology, Dr Lucy Kean, apologised for the "shortfalls" in Carson's care.

She said: “We reiterate the trust’s condolences to the family on the death of their son, Carson, and apologise for the shortfalls in our care, mindful that no words or amount of money can undo the harm and distress they have experienced as a result of this case.”