Couple take legal action after daughter dies hours after birth
Liliwen Iris Thomas died in October 2022 just 20 hours after she was born at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff due to complications during labour.
Her parents, Emily Brazier and Rhodri Thomas, have launched a civil action against Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
The couple, from Cardiff, who are also parents to daughter Carys and son Ellis, have spoken of the devastation at the loss of Liliwen.
They said Ms Brazier's pregnancy had been classed as high-risk and had been monitored accordingly during the antenatal period.
But when she went into labour she was left alone to give birth, they claim.
'I have very hazy memories of my labour but then I vividly remember peeling back the covers and seeing Liliwen there, completely still and lifeless,' she said.
'That image will be with me forever. I still have flashbacks and nightmares and have been in counselling since it happened.'
Mr Thomas said he was not present when Ms Brazier went into labour due to the maternity unit not allowing partners on the ward overnight, unless their partner was in active labour, which at the point of him leaving she was not.
'I should have been there, I could have been Emily's advocate,' he said.
'I would have pressed the call bell and alerted midwives that she was clearly in active labour and needed extra monitoring and help.'
Shortly before midnight on October 9, Ms Brazier said she was given pain relief and left with gas and air before stirring from her drowsiness after 2am to discover her daughter had been born.
'It was absolute panic from that point, they took Liliwen away and rushed me up to the delivery suite, I had lost a lot of blood and needed stitches, IV fluids and a blood transfusion,' she said.
'All this happened while I was still on the induction ward, with only curtains around my bed separating me from four other women. It must have been horrendous for them too.'
Liliwen was treated in the neonatal intensive care unit but died later that day.
Since her death Ms Brazier, who at the time was studying to be a nurse, has opted against a career in the profession and has been diagnosed with PTSD.
'So many happy memories and special family moments are tinged with sadness,' she said.
'I dread family events and Christmas as Liliwen will never be there, she will always be the missing piece.
'I look at the faces of my living children and long to know what Liliwen would look like now at two-and-a-half years old. I will never get over her death, I feel stuck in time.
'I will never be the same person again. Holding your child as they take their last breath, leaving them behind after their last ever cuddle, walking out of the hospital with an empty car seat, there are so many painful memories seared into my brain.
'I have lost my child; it's every parent's worst nightmare and we live the nightmare every single day.'
The couple are being supported in their case by lawyers Slater and Gordon.
Lara Bennett, a senior associate at the firm, said: 'We are supporting Emily and Rhodri in every way we can to secure justice for their daughter after the most unimaginable and traumatic ordeal.'
A spokeswoman for the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said: 'Our sincere thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with Liliwen's family during this incredibly difficult time.
'The health board is fully engaged with the inquest process and it would be inappropriate to comment further until the inquest concludes.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Doctor ‘astounded' by how quickly England cricket star's daughter died
A doctor who treated the daughter of an England cricket star has told a coroner's court he was "astounded" by the speed at which her condition deteriorated before her death. Bethan James, 21, daughter of former Glamorgan and England cricketer Steve James, died on February 8, 2020, hours after being admitted to the University Hospital of Wales (UHW). A post-mortem examination found that Ms. James died of sepsis and pneumonia, with complications arising from Crohn's disease. Dr. Duncan Thomas, who treated Ms. James, a journalism student at the University of South Wales, said he was surprised by how quickly her condition worsened after she was admitted to UHW. Dr. Thomas also expressed "frustration" that Ms. James had not been taken to the resuscitation area sooner, which is reserved for treating the most seriously ill patients. While he did not believe there was anything that could have been done to save her, an expert witness disagreed, saying earlier intervention could have made a "huge difference". Addressing South Wales Central Coroner's Court on Thursday, Dr Thomas said: "I was, I think it's fair to say, astounded at how quickly Bethan was deteriorating. "The rate of Bethan's deterioration was not something I had previously observed in someone of her age group, and, in my career, I have only ever seen it one more time." While dealing with another emergency patient in cardiac arrest, Dr Thomas was informed of Ms James's worsening condition. He said: "When I went back, Bethan was in a highly distressed state, likely as a result of multiple factors. "She was on the edge of the bed, holding on to her mother - Bethan looked extraordinarily unwell. "It was my clinical impression at that time that we would be looking at Bethan's cardiac arrest within a short period of time." Throughout the inquest, concerns were raised over whether more could have been done earlier, including over paramedics failing to alert the hospital about the seriousness of Ms James's condition before she was brought in. While Dr Thomas said the hospital should have received a "pre-alert", he did not believe it would have saved her life, with damage to multiple organs already present before she arrived. "It's my belief that, unfortunately, Bethan would have died," he said. "Bethan's presentation and rate of deterioration were incredibly atypical of someone of her age group." He told the coroner, Patricia Morgan, that Ms James was suffering from a viral, rather than bacterial, form of sepsis, which meant that any antibiotics they were using would not have helped. "There would have been nothing that we were providing that would have stopped the ongoing pathology of the viral infection," he said. Dr Thomas said Ms James's death had a "profound" impact on him and other staff at the hospital, adding: "I wish there was something I could have done". Dr Anurag Joshi, the pathologist who carried out Ms James's post-mortem examination, said Crohn's, an inflammatory bowel disease which he listed as a contributory factor in her death, can lead to immune suppression. Ms James had suffered with gastrointestinal issues for most of her life and had been diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2019. Following complaints of being short of breath, Ms James was diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia in late January and given antibiotics. Her condition continued to decline and she was taken to Llandough hospital twice before she was admitted to UHW on February 8. Dr Chris Danbury, an expert witness from University Hospital Southampton, said he disagreed that nothing could have been done to help Ms James. Dr Thomas had said not moving Ms James to the resuscitation area earlier had led to around an hour's delay in testing her lactate levels, but he did not think the treatment would have been different. High levels of lactate in the blood indicate a problem with the body's oxygen supply and are often elevated in those with sepsis. Dr Danbury said knowing that Ms James's levels were high could have helped provide treatments, such as fluids, sooner, with the hour's delay making a "huge difference". "I see patients like this frequently and if you intervene aggressively as they come through the door, you can avoid cardiac arrest," he said. He disagreed that the case was atypical, arguing it fit with a patient who had been "partially treated" for pneumonia. He also disagreed with the assessment that it was most likely to have been a viral form of sepsis, instead believing that there was a bacterial element that did not show up in the post-mortem examination. The coroner adjourned the inquest until June 17.
Wales Online
a day ago
- Wales Online
Cricket star's daughter Bethan James would 'have likely survived' if medics had acted differently, inquest told
Cricket star's daughter Bethan James would 'have likely survived' if medics had acted differently, inquest told An expert witness said Bethan's cardiac arrest could have been avoided, and that she could have survived if it had been. Bethan is the daughter of former Glamorgan and England cricketer Steve James Bethan, who died in 2020 aged 21, was the daughter of Glamorgan and England cricket star Steve James A seriously unwell 21-year-old woman would have 'likely survived' if medics had acted appropriately sooner, an expert witness has told the coroner overseeing the inquest into her death. Bethan James, the daughter of former Glamorgan and England cricketer Steve James, died on February 8, 2020, just a few hours after being admitted to the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff. The ongoing inquest into her death, which began on Tuesday, June 3, at Pontypridd Coroner's Court, heard that she died of sepsis and pneumonia. Her illness was complicated by the immune suppressing effects of Crohn's disease, it was heard. Budding journalist Bethan's dad, Steve, a highly respected sports journalist himself, was away covering Wales' Six Nations match in Ireland when his daughter was taken seriously ill. Heartbreakingly, due to weather delays, he was unable to get home and see her before she died. During the third day of the inquest on Thursday, June 5, coroner Patricia Morgan heard evidence from Dr Duncan Thomas who treated Bethan at hospital. Article continues below He said he was surprised by how quickly her condition worsened when she was brought into UHW, and expressed 'frustration' that Ms James had not been brought to the resuscitation area – used for treating the most seriously ill patients – earlier. However, he did not believe there was anything that could have been done to save her. Dr Thomas said: 'I was, I think it's fair to say, astounded at how quickly Bethan was deteriorating. 'The rate of Bethan's deterioration was not something I had previously observed in someone of her age group, and, in my career, I have only ever seen it one more time.' While Dr Thomas said the hospital should have received a 'pre-alert' from paramedics bringing Bethan to UHW, he did not believe it would have saved her life, with damage to multiple organs already present before she arrived. 'It's my belief that, unfortunately, Bethan would have died,' he said. 'Bethan's presentation and rate of deterioration were incredibly atypical of someone of her age group.' Bethan James pictured celebrating her 21st birthday Dr Thomas said Ms James' death had a 'profound' impact on him and other staff at the hospital, adding: 'I wish there was something I could have done'. However, the inquest later heard from expert witness Dr Chris Danbury: an intensive care consultant at University Hospital Southampton and an honorary senior lecturer at the University of Southampton Medical School. He disagreed with evidence heard earlier on Thursday, stating his view was that Bethan's cardiac arrest could have been avoided. Ms Morgan asked him: 'Is it your evidence that if [Bethan] had been taken into the resus area [straight away] then a cardiac arrest could have been avoided?' Dr Danbury replied: 'Yes. That's based on my experience. We have seen patients like this frequently. If you [act] aggressively when they come through the door you can avoid cardiac arrest.' He further explained: 'Resus is a safe place…I have no problem with her staying in resus until a bed came available at [the intensive care unit]. Resus is the place she should be safe until she gets stabilised and is safe to move elsewhere in the hospital.' Referring to Dr Danbury's pre-prepared report, Ms Morgan said: 'You say if she hadn't gone into cardiac arrest, in your view, she would have likely survived?' He responded: 'Yes.' Responding to Dr Thomas's description of Bethan's presentation of 'atypical', Dr Danbury said: '[It is] something I have seen before and no doubt I will see it again.' During the first day of the inquest on Tuesday it was heard how Bethan was 'dismissed' by a number of medics in the weeks that led up to her death. On Wednesday the coroner heard from the ambulance crew who tended to Bethan and brought her to UWH. The paramedics agreed that A&E should have been warned that Bethan was on her way. Speaking at the hearing on Tuesday, her heartbroken mother, Jane James, described Bethan as a 'caring' and 'beautiful' person who always put others before herself. Diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2019 at the age of 20, Bethan documented her experience of the condition through a vlog and had hopes of becoming a journalist. Mrs James said: 'As a person she never moaned, she never made a fuss. She was very caring. She was just beautiful. 'She put people before herself. She was more interested in other people and their stories and I think that's why she would have made a brilliant journalist.' The inquest continues. Article continues below
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
Barbaric dad set sleeping daughter, two, on fire in desert in 'heinous' act
Murderer Shawn Grell, 50, killed his two-year-old daughter in the most "heinous, cruel and depraved way" after setting her alight in the desert, according to the Arizona Supreme Court A barbaric and "cruel" dad who set fire to his two-year-old daughter while she was sleeping in the desert has died in jail. Murderer Shawn Grell, 50, was discovered by prison officers in the Arizona Prison Complex on April 19. No details were disclosed about his death. 'All inmate deaths are investigated in consultation with the county medical examiner's office,' the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry said in a statement. The killer had spent 26 years in jail after he picked up his daughter, Kristen Salem, from childcare on December 2, 1999, and took her to McDonald's. After they left, he told her they would see Christmas lights, but he drove to Target to purchase a petrol can and some diesel. Grell drove to a desert in Arizona, laid Kristen on the ground, poured diesel on her and set her on fire, according to harrowing court documents. She briefly woke up and stumbled before falling to the ground. After the "heinous, cruel and depraved" killing of his daughter, he drove to a nearby store and purchased some beer. Grell drove for hours before eventually calling police and turning himself in. He confessed to killing her the next day, with no trace of emotion. 'I took the gasoline and I poured it on her,' he told investigators during a police interview. 'I took the match and threw it on her." The court ruled the horrendous killing was committed in an 'especially heinous, cruel, and depraved manner' and Grell was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to the death penalty. However, this was overturned by the Arizona Supreme Court in 2013, which said his death sentence was "cruel and unusual punishment." It came after the Supreme Court in 2022 determined that it was a violation of the Eighth Amendment to administer the death penalty to people with "mental deficiencies." 'Because of their disabilities in areas of reasoning, judgment, and control of their impulses, however, they do not act with the level of moral culpability that characterizes the most serious adult criminal conduct,' the Supreme Court ruled. It comes after another father allegedly smashed his one-year-old daughter's head on the floor in a drunken rage because she wouldn't stop crying, according to police. Suresh Dore, 40, was taken into custody by authorities on Sunday after he was accused of murdering his daughter during a violent drunken outburst. Police in India allege the man killed the little girl by smashing her head on the floor after he was irritated by her crying. The suspect tried to flee the scene but was quickly captured by police. "If he had fled, it would have been difficult to nab him as he doesn't own a mobile phone and is a daily wager," police inspector Prasad Pandhare said. Dore, who has four children from three wives, has been accused previously of violence in the home, police say.
