£1million compensation for 5 year-old Lucas, who suffered brain damage at birth due to doctors negligence
Clinical Negligence News : 17 August 2012
A young boy is to be awarded over £1million in compensation after doctors failed to notice his blood sugar levels plummet, resulting in the development of cerebal palsy.
Lucas Hillier started to suffer from hypoglycaemia shortly after his birth at Good Hope Hospital in the West Midlands. However, Lucas was not diagnosed with the condition until the following day, by which time he had devloped cerebal palsy.
Lucas, now five, has limited movement in his upper and lower body, severe epilepsy and poor eyesight as a result of the brain damage he tragically suffered.
Hospital bosses have admitted liability for the injuries Lucas suffered as a baby and are now set to make a seven-figure payout to his family to pay for his future care.
Lucas’ mother, Kerry, said, “NHS Trusts must spend more time training maternity staff about the dangers of hypoglycaemia and how to spot the symptoms and react quickly. It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that, if that had happened after Lucas was born, he would be fit and healthy today.”
Lucas’ parents spoke about their concerns after his birth but medics at the hospital failed to take action until the next morning, when a paediatrician saw Lucas and rushed him to the special care unit.
'They told us then that his blood sugar was low and over the next three weeks he spent time in intensive care,” said Kerry.
In November 2007, Lucas’ parents met with his doctors to discuss some MRI results and were given the tragic news that their son had brain damage due to hyperglycaemia.
Upon hearing the news, the couple instructed Irwin Mitchell lawyers to look into their case.
Just weeks after Lucas’ 5th birthday, news came of the imminent payout which would greatly help the family.
“He’s a lovely little boy but there were so many times we weren’t sure what his future might hold.”, said Kerry, who had to give up her job in order to care for her son.
“He continues to amaze us with his progress and dotes on his two little brothers. We’ve had an interim payment which has helped towards carers and a specially-adapted house. It’s reassuring that Lucas does have access to these specialist facilities and we hope the settlement eventually agreed will allow him to have this for life.”
A spokesperson for the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, said “We would again like to offer our sincere apologies to Lucas Hillier and his family. Lucas suffered poor feeding and lethargy because he was suffering from hypoglycaemia. He was not treated for this immediately and as a result experienced a worse outcome than may otherwise have occurred.”