St George's Hospital pays Leo Whiten £6.6 million for brain damage caused by medical negligence
August 10, 2011
Posted by:Suzanne Trask
The BBC reports that the NHS Trust which runs St George's Hospital admitted "serious shortcomings" in its standard of care. Leo Whiten, who suffered catastrophic injuries as he was being delivered has been awarded compensation of £6.6m by the Trust in south London.
He is now seven, and was left with brain damage in 2004 because of negligence at St George's Hospital in Tooting. Leo cannot stand or walk by himself, and has limited mobility and speech. He will receive a lump sum of £2.7m and additional annual payments.
St George's Healthcare NHS Trust admitted "serious shortcomings". "The Trust sincerely regrets that Leo suffered serious brain damage as a result of these failures and formally apologised to the family in 2005," a spokesman added.
Mrs Justice Swift, who heard the case at the High Court, said experts agreed Leo would "always be totally dependent on the care of others for all his daily activities. He will never be able to live independently, will not be capable of any form of employment and will never have the necessary mental capacity to be able to manage his own affairs," she said.
Despite his disability, he was a "generally happy" child who "thoroughly enjoys the company and attention of adults and other children", she added.