After he suffered catastrophic injuries during his birth, one seven year old boy has recently won a medical negligence claim and was awarded a personal injury compensation award totaling £6.6 million.
Young Leo Whiten, who was born in London’s St George’s Hospital, brought his personal injury claims against the hospital’s NHS Trust for the role its medical staff had in his catastrophic injuries, accident claim experts report. The medical negligence claim was for not only the personal injuries he sustained during his delivery but also for the financial losses he suffered as a result of never being able to live an independent life.
At the hearing, Justice Swift, after assessing the various sums that needed to be paid to the young victim, remarked that Leo’s medical experts have proven that the boy will have to be completely dependent on outside help for even the most basic of his everyday needs. Mrs Swift said that it was clear that Leo is a generally happy and quite engaging child despite his profound and serious disabilities.
The socially aware child, who seems to thoroughly enjoy the attention and company of other children and adults, will nonetheless never be able to live an independent life, Mrs Swift continued. Young Leo was determined to be completely incapable of any form of employment, and was found to be completely lacking in the requisite mental capacities required to be able to look after his own affairs, the justice also said in her ruling from London.
The details of Leo’s injury compensation award have not yet been made public, but legal industry experts predict that the young child will be granted a lump sum payment, followed by annual index-linked payments for the rest of his life.