|
Teens win compensation for bungled surgery |
Two teenagers have each received £500,000 in compensation from a medical negligence claim following surgical mistakes at Bristol Royal Infirmary and British Royal Hospital for Sick Children.
Both 19-year-old Kristian Dixon and Jessica Helen Johnson, 17, underwent cardiac procedures at the hospitals that left them with lifelong disabilities.
The cases came ten years after a public enquiry into paediatric surgery at the facilities in the 1980 and 1990s that has seen dozens of compensation claims being filed.
Both Mr Dixon and Ms Johnson sued the United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust through their parents or guardians, alleging the care they received was negligent.
Ms Johnson underwent two heart operations as a child that resulted in severe brain damage.
Mr Dixon's barrister said the teenager, who was left with learning difficulties, has had "an extremely difficult early life" and hoped the award would help provide a secure future for him, the South Wales Argus reported.
Spokeswoman for the Trust Sarah Paneth expressed her best wishes to both claimants, adding that the settlement had been reached without any admission of liability on the hospitals' parts.
The Trust was previously at the centre of controversy relating to its paediatric cardiac surgery following the deaths of 35 babies at Bristol Royal Infirmary, while dozens more suffered brain damage, known as the Bristol heart scandal.
It led to the biggest public enquiry ever undertaken by the NHS, which resulted in a dramatic change in the way mortality rates in cardiac care centres are monitored.
Problems highlighted by the report included staff shortages and a lack of monitoring by management, as well as a culture of rivalry among doctors at the hospital.
Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, who heads the medical injury team at KCJ, said: "The striking thing here is that the Trust have paid out £1m with no admission of liability. This is disappointing as they must have felt responsible to have paid out such significant amounts. One can only hope that at last lessons have been learnt in Bristol and there will not be more of these cases."
|
|
