Alder Hey ordered to pay over £10m in damages to family after child brain damaged in 'routine' surgery
A mum whose toddler was left brain damaged after botched open heart surgery at Alder Hey Children's Hospital was allegedly told "these things happen" by the surgeon. Her child underwent open heart surgery at the children's hospital and despite being told the procedure was "routine", her child - whose identity has been protected by a court - was left wheelchair-bound and needs round-the-clock care since.
They suffered significant brain injuries due to being starved of oxygen during the operation in 2012, and now, 12 years on, the family has finally secured a £20million pay-out to help support the teenager. Speaking to the Mirror, the mum said: "People see that you've got the settlement and think you're millionaires and that we can now go out and buy diamonds and flash cars. But what they don't realise is that this is to pay for the cost of our child's care, it doesn't even go to us. It's all about providing for their future.
"In the early days, we realised our only option was to keep on working to make ends meet and to cover the cost of care for our child. We couldn't receive benefits because we'd have given up work, rather than losing our jobs; we couldn't give our house back to the bank because we wouldn't quality for social housing.
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"Parents are left tired and struggling, with no support. At least now, all these years later, we know our child will be provided for for the rest of their life."
Re-living the moment in 2012 when they realised something had gone wrong in surgery, the mum said she knew instantly she needed answers. She said: "When they said it wasn't their fault, I didn't believe it. I just knew. As a parent, I think you know. They send you a letter telling you nothing has gone wrong - but how many parents will believe them? How many will be too traumatised, too tired, not to pursue it?
"Not everyone will have the energy and the fight to pursue it as I have, it devastates your whole life. I would urge every parent who has doubts about their child's care, who has a gut feeling something isn't right, not to take their platitudes and don't accept what they're telling you.
"One surgeon said to me at the time, 'Welcome to the NHS in 2012. These things happen' and that has stayed with me ever since. My child is not something they can practice on - their life, and that of our whole family, has never been the same and will never be the same. The trauma we have been through is really indescribable. I'm angry, upset, tired, but I'll keep on fighting for my child, always."
She added: "My child has never been back to Alder Hey and will never go back there. Even after the operation, the lack of empathy or compassion was terrible. We had one meeting in the staffroom to discuss this which the complaints department didn't even know about.
"The communication was so bad from the very start. Even immediately after the surgery when you can tell something is wrong, but they're not telling you anything. You know from how they're behaving that all is not as it should be, but you're otherwise in the dark.
"Ever since that day, my child has had to go to countless appointments, see countless therapists and doctors and specialists, and will do for the rest of their life, and I am on the defence all the time. I can't cut any of them any slack after what happened 12 years ago. Twelve years is such a painfully long time.
"The NHS really needs to look at how long this process takes. It takes years, but this length of time is not good enough. Parents commit suicide, marriages break down, they're often too frightened to have more children. All because of how long it takes to get justice for your child, and how hard that is to achieve."
The final overall damages to be paid are still uncertain, as annual payments will have to be made by the Trust for the rest of the young person’s life. However, an initial lump sum payment of £10.4 million has been agreed, with an additional significant annual payment of more than £400,000 per year, to pay for ongoing care and case management. The settlement will be in excess of £20million.
The money will finance the teenager’s 24-hour care for the rest of their life, as well as their ongoing education, equipment and therapies. Although they live with a brain injury, they have been able to access education through a private home tutor which is funded by the compensation. Home education will take place in a specially designed classroom to be built in the family’s ‘forever home’ which will now be purchased from the compensation.
Other items paid for by the settlement to ensure the young person has quality of life are a fully adapted bespoke motor home to allow the family to travel and to enjoy holidays, and the installation of a swimming pool in their home. This will enable their child to exercise in the water, receive water-based therapies as part of their ongoing rehabilitation and importantly, to enjoy quality time with friends and other family members.
Legal firm Slater and Gordon took up the compensation case and principal lawyer Helen Lewis supported the family in securing the settlement. She said: “This family’s life was ripped apart through negligent surgery, and now they have received the settlement which gives them the reassurance that their beloved child will be looked after for the rest of their life. It was very important to them that, as well as their child’s care being taken care of, they should also enjoy a quality of life. For that reason, we insisted on provisions being made such as a private tutor and an adapted motorhome, as well as the creation of a home hydrotherapy pool, which ensures that their child will be able to enjoy a quality of life they otherwise would not.
“We have fought hard to ensure that our client is able to access everything they deserve and are pleased to have secured this very significant settlement. This will enable the family to look to the future after what has understandably been a very difficult and traumatic time.”
The mum added: “As a family it has been a very difficult journey over many years. No one can truly understand unless you are going through it. We have been very fortunate to have a very dedicated, knowledgeable, professional and supportive legal team who have ensured our child will be secure and looked after for life. We will be forever grateful to Helen and the team at Slater and Gordon.”
An Alder Hey Hospital spokeswoman said: "We hope that the recent settlement will provide this child and her family with some comfort and reassurance for the future and help with the support that needs to be put in place. We are very sorry for the failings in care in this case back in 2012 and have since reviewed and made changes to the systems and process we have in place. We will continue to learn and make improvements wherever we can to further enhance the standard of care we provide."