Young Girl Awarded Multi-Million Pound Compensation
A young girl who was left in need of 24-hour care after suffering catastrophic brain damage, has been granted a multi-million pound compensation package in a public liability claim.
The nine-year-old was affected by the condition after being struck by a virus that medical staff did not diagnose.
Lawyers who fought for the young girl blamed staff at James Paget Hospital, near Great Yarmouth, for failing to diagnose the condition, which left her with spastic quadriplegia and acute learning difficulties.
The girl was born a few weeks prematurely in January 2000 and appeared to thrive and feed well. But her parents soon noticed that she had become permanently sleepy and was losing weight and took her to see her GP on February 1, 2000.
The doctor arranged an immediate admission to the hospital, where she was seen, but no clear diagnosis was made and she was discharged the same day.
On February 12 2000, the baby suffered a collapse at home and was rushed to hospital, unfortunately too late to save her from brain damage.
Despite denying medical negligence, the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust agreed a settlement which will see the girl, of Stoke Ash Road, Thorndon, near Eye, receive 80 per cent of the full valuation of the claim.
Updated on 18/01/2010