A midwife has been left walking with a stick after she was attacked by a mother whose baby she had just helped deliver.

Jennifer Rhodes-Hampton was punched and kicked so hard that she suffered spinal tears which prevented her from working.

But the 46-year-old is set to receive hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation after a judge ruled hospital managers failed to protect her.

Mrs Rhodes-Hampton tonight spoke of her relief after her seven-year battle for compensation was won at the Court of Appeal in London.

She was in the recovery room at Worthing Hospital when the patient woke up confused after having a Caesarean delivery under general anaesthetic.

The patient began screaming and thrashing around and Mrs Rhodes-Hampton was repeatedly hit when she attempted to stop her falling off the bed.

Minutes later the midwife was kicked and pulled over the bed when she again tried to stop the mother from falling to the floor.

Mrs Rhodes-Hampton, of Bay Vue Road, Newhaven, suffered devastating spinal tears during the attack, which happened on August 20, 2000.

She said: "I suffered a very bad back injury which precludes me from doing my work as a midwife.

"I can now only work in a very limited way in a mother and baby unit.

"I suffer a lot of pain which has affected every aspect of my life."

Mrs Rhodes-Hampton sued Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust for damages last autumn.

Judge Simpkiss dismissed her case at Brighton County Court, leaving her with more than £50,000 in legal bills.

But at the Court of Appeal today Lady Justice Smith reversed the decision.

The judge ruled the anaesthetist was negligent for not taking precautions which would have prevented the patient from snapping.

Also, Mrs Rhodes-Hampton's team said hospital staff should have lifted the bedside cot rails which are designed to stop patients from falling.

The judge dismissed claims Mrs Rhodes-Hampton had been at fault because she had decided to approach the screaming patient.

She also said the midwife did not have the training or experience to deal with the crisis.

The judge said: "She found herself in a situation with which she was unfamiliar and ill-equipped and, even after she had been assaulted for the first time, she did not appreciate that there was a danger that the patient might erupt for a second time.

"When the patient did erupt, Mrs Rhodes-Hampton did her best to protect the patient from harm.

"In so doing, she was exposed to the risk of injury because proper precautions had not been taken by the anaesthetist.

"In my view, she should not be held at all responsible for what happened."

Mrs Rhodes-Hampton's solicitor, Richard Thorn, of Richard Thorn and Co in Marlborough Place, Brighton, said his client was relieved.

He said: "She was abandoned by everyone to cope with a patient who was going berserk.

"It was a devastating incident and the legal struggle has been considerable.

"The health authority has resisted every step of the way."

The Court of Appeal's ruling means Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust is fully liable for Mrs Rhodes-Hampton's injuries.

Her payout will have to be assessed at another court hearing unless final settlement terms are agreed in the meantime.

A trust spokeswoman said: "The trust successfully defended this case at trial in September 2006.

"It is therefore disappointed at the Court of Appeal's ruling but hopes that it will now be possible to resolve the question of damages amicably."

The NHS has spent almost £50 million in the past five years in compensation for blunders at Sussex hospitals.

The NHS Litigation Authority paid out £7.4 million on behalf of Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust.

During this period, £2.6 million was paid out to employees and visitors who had been injured at NHS sites.