Parents of Disabled Teenager Receive High Court's Utmost Admiration

Clinical negligence lawyers know only too well that personal injury awards, no matter how large, are incapable of ending the travails of parents struggling to look after disabled children. As a High Court case showed, however, money can at least provide a sense of closure and peace of mind for the future.

The case concerned a 13-year-old boy who suffered a severe brain injury around the time of his birth. Although independently mobile, he is prey to physical, learning and behavioural disabilities and will always depend on others for almost all the activities of daily life. After proceedings were launched on his behalf, an NHS trust agreed to pay him 95 per cent of the full value of his claim.

Following negotiations, final settlement terms were agreed whereby the boy would receive a lump sum of £7,125,000, together with index-linked annual payments towards the costs of his care for life. Those payments will start at £110,000 a year before rising to £157,500 a year in December 2027.

Approving the settlement, the Court commended both sides for reaching a sensible compromise without the need for a contested trial. No amount of money could make up for the tragedy that had befallen the boy, yet he was fortunate in having loving and devoted parents whose care for him was worthy of the utmost admiration. The Court hoped that the settlement would aid the couple in giving their son a life as near as possible to that of any boy of his age.