Dr Bhojnagarwala provides independent expert opinion to both Claimant and Defendant instructing solicitors in clinical negligence and personal injury cases involving neonatal and paediatric medicine. He has completed Bond Solon expert witness training and prepares reports in accordance with CPR Part 35 and the duties owed to the Court.
He is a Consultant Neonatologist with over 12 years of consultant-level experience at a Level 3 NICU, with additional honorary roles in neonatal and paediatric cardiology at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. His clinical expertise encompasses the full breadth of neonatal medicine, and he is able to provide expert opinion across the entire spectrum of neonatal and perinatal cases, from extreme prematurity and birth injury through to complex neonatal intensive care and governance failures.
Areas of Medico-Legal Expertise
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy and Birth Injury
- Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE): recognition, grading, and therapeutic hypothermia (cooling)
- Perinatal asphyxia: causation, timing of insult, and neurodevelopmental outcome
- Birth injuries including brachial plexus injuries, intracranial haemorrhage, and skull fractures
- Shoulder dystocia and its neonatal sequelae
- Delayed or inadequate resuscitation at birth
- Neonatal encephalopathy of uncertain aetiology
- Brain MRI interpretation in the context of perinatal injury
Prematurity and Its Complications
- Management of extreme prematurity and infants at the margins of viability
- Intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), and neurodevelopmental sequelae
- Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), surfactant therapy, and ventilatory management (HFOV, CPAP, invasive ventilation)
- Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and chronic lung disease
- Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC): recognition, management, and surgical referral
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP): screening and referral standards
- Complications of parenteral nutrition
Vascular Access and Umbilical Catheters
- Umbilical arterial catheter (UAC) and umbilical venous catheter (UVC) placement and confirmation
- Catheter misplacement, malposition, and delayed recognition
- Intra-arterial drug administration and limb ischaemia
- Vascular complications including thrombosis, embolism, and organ ischaemia
- Central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI)
Neonatal Haemodynamics and Cardiovascular Management
- Haemodynamic instability in the newborn: assessment and management
- Inotrope and vasopressor selection, dosing, and titration
- Neonatal shock: septic, cardiogenic, and distributive
- Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA): assessment and treatment decisions
- Pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)
- Congenital heart disease: recognition, stabilisation, and referral
Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) — Specialist Expertise
- Neonatal lung ultrasound: diagnosis and management of respiratory conditions
- UVC/UAC tip position confirmation using POCUS
- Functional echocardiography and targeted neonatal echocardiography (TNE)
- Cranial ultrasound interpretation
- Standards of POCUS practice, training, and governance in neonatal medicine
- Dr Bhojnagarwala holds European Certification in congenital heart disease echocardiography (EACVI) and is Honorary Treasurer of NeoFOCUS-UK (the BAPM Special Interest Group for neonatal POCUS)
Neonatal Infection and Sepsis
- Early and late-onset neonatal sepsis: recognition, investigation, and management
- Meningitis and septicaemia in the newborn
- Delayed diagnosis and antibiotic stewardship failures
- TORCH and congenital infections
Metabolic and Endocrine Conditions
- Neonatal hypoglycaemia: recognition, monitoring, and management failures
- Hyperbilirubinaemia and kernicterus risk
- Inborn errors of metabolism: recognition and emergency management
- Neonatal thyroid disorders
Drug Errors and Medication Safety
- Neonatal drug dosing errors and calculation failures
- Wrong-route administration (including intrathecal, intra-arterial)
- High-alert medications in neonatal care (inotropes, insulin, potassium, opioids)
Perinatal Governance and System Failures
- Serious incident investigation and root cause analysis
- Perinatal Mortality Review (PMRT) and Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) processes
- Failures in escalation, handover, and communication
- Staffing, supervision, and training standard failures
- Documentation and record-keeping failures
Dr Bhojnagarwala is the NICU Mortality and Morbidity Lead at Medway NHS Foundation Trust and a Clinical Lecturer at Kent and Medway Medical School. He accepts instructions on a named-expert basis, undertakes joint discussions with opposing experts, and is available for single joint expert (SJE) appointments. He is experienced in producing reports at Letter of Instruction stage, Liability and Causation reports, and Condition and Prognosis reports.
