Brain Injury Girl Gets £3m Compensation From NHS

A seriously brain-damaged girl has been granted £3m in compensation from an NHS Trust.

The 9-year-old girl, who cannot be named, was born at Leighton Hospital in 2003 and it was claimed by her legal team that her birth was mismanaged, resulting in her brain damage.

The allegations have been vehemently refuted by Mid Cheshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust but this week a settlement figure was reached.

Senior judges at the High Court in London approved the £3m payout lump sum and said it was ‘sensible and pragmatic to ensure the girl gets the help she needs and that she can realise her potential’.

Settlement agreed will assist with her ongoing needs

The girl’s barrister said she had had a horrendous injury which had left her unable to speak and with poor cognitive ability. She also has little use of her limbs because she had not been delivered quickly enough at birth.

NHS trust lawyers said that there were no indications at the time that would have suggested a different approach than the one that was taken at the birth. They said that even if they had, the girl would still have been brain damaged.

Medical experts remained undecided on the details and the two parties finally agreed on a settlement figure.

Mrs Justice Swift said that the compensation the girl would receive is of the girl’s best interests and she highlighted the difficulty of the case relating to problems of liability.

She said of the claimant: “I hope that the damages that have resulted from this settlement will assist the claimant, first of all in realising the undoubted potential which she has”.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “The Trust hopes that the settlement agreed will assist with her ongoing needs and would like to take this opportunity to wish her and her family well for the future.”

Published on 16th February 2015.