17 January 2024 , 19:21
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A mother who gave birth prematurely after falling into a hole in the road and feared she would lose her baby has been awarded damages.
Selma Abdalla, from Manchester, was 30 weeks pregnant and on her way home from picking up her children from school when she stepped into a hole in the pavement in the road in July 2019. Her leg plunged inside up to her thigh, causing trauma to her lower abdomen and back.
Although she escaped with minor cuts and bruises after the accident, Mrs Abdalla’s pain and cramps worsened as she feared for her unborn baby’s life. She was rushed to St Mary's Hospital in Manchester by her husband where her blood pressure spiked and she started experiencing blurred vision and headaches.
Three days later, she had to undergo emergency surgery to get the baby out due to the escalating health risks for both mother and child.
Selma, 45, said: “I remember the doctors saying they needed to operate, and I wasn’t ready at all, but it was a race against time because I couldn’t feel her kicking anymore. I thought my child was going to die.
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“I was completely disorientated. My entire left leg up to my thigh had gone through the hole and I fell to the ground in agony. I remember people pulling me out and I started getting pains in my stomach a few minutes later. At that point I knew that my unborn baby was in danger, and I thought I was going into labour.
Selma had to watch her newborn cling to life inside an incubator following her emergency C-section“She was so tiny, she fit in my hand and weighed about the same as a small bag of flour. The hardest thing was straight after the procedure, they had to take her away so I couldn’t even see her and a few days later, I had to go home without my baby, which for a mother, is the hardest thing in the world.
“I came to see her every day and because she wasn’t allowed out of the incubator, I would put a blanket over it and lay her new clothes next to the enclosure. It was really hard, but when she finally came home, it was the best feeling in the world. She’s a miracle baby.”
Barriers were erected at the site, which was near a primary school, the following day after a witness at the scene reported what had happened, but the damage was already done. Her daughter Yomna was born seven weeks early and weighed only 1.5kg. She had to stay in a special baby care unit for nine weeks and needed a machine to breathe.
Yomna is now four years old and doing wellAfter the birth, Mrs Abdalla said her recovery at home took longer than expected and she needed help for days with basic things such as getting in and out of bed and taking showers.
After a prolonged legal battle, Manchester based Veritas Solicitors, representing Mrs Abdalla, secured an out of court settlement of £6,500, one month before the case was set for trial against the construction company responsible. Yomna is now four years old and living a normal life with no health issues.
Selma added: “I’m so relieved Yomna is fit and well, but things could have been a lot different. The lack of regard for people's safety has caused me to suffer physically and emotionally, my baby could have died. This I cannot forgive. I want to thank Veritas Solicitors for all their support and guidance through this tough time.”