£5 million pound settlement for child who became blind following delayed treatment at KGH NHS Foundation Trust

Louise Tyler, Head of the Medical Negligence team, was instructed by the parents of a little girl who was born very premature and suffered a complication to her eyes as a result of her prematurity known as Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP).

We alleged that the Hospital failed to diagnose and treat the condition when the signs were first present and as a result the little girl is now totally blind..

Proceedings in this case had to be issued at court and finally the Hospital admitted negligence accepting that she should have been recalled for a further appointment and had that happened she would at that appointment been referred for treatment and that but for the Hospital’s breach of duty she would have suffered mild vision loss only.

Louise Tyler investigated the claim with the assistance of a Consultant Ophthalmologist. The issues were complex because Retinopathy of Prematurity is a complication that can arise for any premature baby and is not something that is necessarily negligently caused. It can be caused by the Hospital giving too much oxygen but this had not happened in this particular case. What we were dealing with was a failure by the doctor who was checking the eyes to note that there were signs of ROP and he failed to act appropriately by calling her in for an earlier check which, had he done that, would have resulted in an earlier referral and that would have led to treatment being given which would have to some extent reversed the complications. She would not therefore have resulted in becoming totally blind.

Having some sight as opposed to having no sight cannot be underestimated and this meant that once we had an admission from the Hospital Trust we were able to quantify the claim by working out what assistance she would be require in the future to enable her to fulfil her full potential in terms of education, employment and being able to look after her own family. We relied on a number of experts and the case was finally concluded at a negotiating meeting with the Defendants legal team. We were able to agree terms of settlement and these were finally put before a Judge who approved the settlement on the basis that it would be partly paid by way of a lump sum and the rest would be paid by way of annual periodic payments. The total value was £5million.

At the end of the case the mother emailed Louise to convey her thoughts.

“Thank you for all your support and guidance through this process, I honestly don’t think we would have stuck at it if it wasn’t for you. You have manged to get an amazing settlement which will help her so much in her future so thanks again”

If you are considering a Medical Negligence claim you can find more information here.