Boy awarded £4m after KGH blunders

A boy will receive £4m in compensation after blunders at Kettering General Hospital left him with a catastrophic brain injury.
Kettering General Hospital.Kettering General Hospital.
Kettering General Hospital.

The boy, who cannot be identified, has suffered from cerebral palsy since his birth a number of years ago and needs round-the-clock care.

His barrister, Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC, told London’s High Court that he suffered ‘severe brain damage’ in the aftermath of his delivery.

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The court heard the NHS trust which runs the hospital accepted he should not have been discharged home without certain tests taking place. The tests were not carried out.

Judge Mrs Justice Cutts said: “What happened should not have happened.

“It is a tragedy that this occurred.”

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust agreed to a final settlement of the youngster’s case yesterday (Monday).

He will receive a £4m lump sum, plus index-linked and tax-free annual payments to cover the costs of his care for life.

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Those payments will start at £188,700 a year, until he turns 18, and then rise to £288,700 a year, the court heard.

Margaret Bowron QC, for the NHS trust, said: “I wish to repeat the apology which was given in writing to the boy’s parents.

“That which happened to this little boy should not have happened and it is a source of huge regret that it did.”

Leanne Hackshall, director of nursing and quality at Kettering General Hospital, said: “We would like to take this opportunity to, once again, express our deep and sincere regret to the family for the failures that led to the life-changing injuries that have affected this child.

“We constantly strive to learn from past errors and have done significant work within our teams to prevent this ever happening again.”

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