Victims of medical negligence can win compensation for their injuries decades after the event and no matter how complex their cases may be. The family of one young man found that out when lawyers succeeded in winning him £3.9 million in damages 14 years after he suffered a catastrophic seizure.
The man, aged 25, was born with a thyroid condition which went undiagnosed and untreated for much of his childhood. That was despite repeated visits to doctors and the family’s local hospital during his early years. He finally collapsed, when aged 11, and was left brain damaged, wheelchair dependent, unable to speak and prey to serious behavioural problems.
His legal team launched a claim against an NHS trust, which denied liability. Lawyers on all sides acknowledged that the case threw up medical issues of great complexity. However, the trust ultimately agreed to compensate him on the basis of 52.5 per cent of the full value of his claim. Even on that limited basis, the compensation payable came to £3.9 million, which would be used to buy a suitably adapted home and specialist equipment, and to support his parents’ continuing care for him at home.