We settled a general medicine claim for £2.6 million for
Barry who was given 3,500 times the amount of drug that he required
and suffers from cerebral palsy and other conditions as a
result.
When he was 11 days old, Barry became ill and
was readmitted to hospital for observation.
The following day he began convulsing (having
a fit) and was prescribed an anti-convulsant drug (phenytoin) to
control this. Later that day, he was said to be
improving.
Early the following morning, a doctor from
another unit made up a vial containing 175 mg of
phenytoin. The correct dose was 5 mg of phenytoin.
Barry was given 3,500 times the amount
of the drug that he was prescribed and as a result of the overdose,
Barry’s condition deteriorated rapidly. He suffered extremely
low blood pressure which resulted in a lack of
oxygen to his brain.
The lack of oxygen caused Barry serious
injuries and he now suffers from developmental delay, abnormal mode
of control, impairment of vision and cerebral palsy.
We were instructed in August 1995 to
consider a potential claim for medical
negligence.
The Health Authority initially denied that it
was negligent to have given the overdose. Subsequently, they
admitted the negligence but denied that the overdose caused
Barry’s injuries.
The action was fixed for trial for 1 October
1998 and it was only with extreme reluctance that the Health
Authority finally submitted to judgment.
The action was settled with the approval of
the court and Barry was awarded £2.6 million. The compensation will
ensure that Barry receives the best treatment, care and education
possible for his conditions.
For further information or if you have an
general medicine negligence claim
call Paul McNeil on
020 7861 4019 or email paul.mcneil@ffw.com
You can speak to any member of our medical negligence claims team on
freephone 0800 358 3848,
email personalinjury@ffw.com or
complete our short enquiry form.