I am very curious about Mr Myers' decision to revisit the matter of child O's liver trauma today. Was he really expecting Dr Evans to say 'oh yes, now you've shown me that video of CPR, and asked me again, I do remember it happens sometimes'. Perhaps trying to override expert opinion, and play to the lack of medical experience of the jurors understanding where the internal organs are?
15th March cross-exam -
Baby allegedly murdered by nurse Lucy Letby was injected with air,...
"Mr Myers said: “I suggest that vigorous chest compressions can cause or are capable of causing internal injuries to the liver.”
Dr Evans replied: “I have never seen it.”
Fellow expert witness, neonatologist Dr Sandie Bohin, said she too had never seen liver damage from CPR."
Lucy Letby: Baby triplet died after trauma to liver, jury told
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Dr Evans ruled out CPR being a cause for the liver bleed, saying that the chest compressions needed by Child O on 23 June were "carried out by experienced doctors" and "doesn't get near the liver"."
Baby killed with injection of air by nurse Letby, medical expert says
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My feeling was that what came first was the liver haematoma, the liver trauma. 'We've heard from the local medical team about the resuscitation they carried out, but the chest compressions didn't get near the liver'. Dr Evans told Nick Johnson KC, prosecuting, he had invited police to ask an expert pathologist to view the available evidence 'and to ask whether, in the pathologist's view, it was likely to be the result of trauma'."
Then today Mr Myers went back to it, in the middle of child P's case -
Chester Standard -
"Mr Myers is first asking about the efforts to save Child P's brother Child O, about damage to the liver. Mr Myers asks if this could come as a result of chest compressions. Dr Evans says if the compressions are done properly, this would not be the case. A video is shown to the court showing the correct procedure on providing chest compressions to an infant.
Mr Myers again asks if it is possible for damage to be caused to the liver by several minutes of 'vigorous' chest compressions. Dr Evans says he has never seen it in his experience."
Tweets
"Mr Myers is first dealing with a matter from last week's evidence on Child O. The lawyer suggested to Dr Evans that injury found to Child O's liver post-mortem could have been caused in resuscitation attempts, the doctor refutes that this is possible with professional medics
Court is currently being shown an X-ray of Child O and Dr Evans is pointing out to the jury where the liver is - he says 'if you are an experienced CPR neonatal doctor' you know where to place thumb/finger to carry out resus
Mr Myers says it's 'entirely possible in the course of vigorous chest compressions over several minutes that the liver can sustain damage' Dr Evans says 'I've never seen it'"