Periodic payments are to form a significant part of a 5.5 million pounds compensation settlement made to an eighteen-year-old woman from the UK who suffered brain damage at birth.
The unnamed woman was born at St. Luke´s Hospital in Bradford in 1994, after “significant delays in her mother´s medical review” resulted in the foetus being starved of oxygen in the days leading up to her birth.
Consequently, when the little girl was born, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and experienced speech and hearing problems which led to severe learning difficulties while she was growing up.
Four years ago, the girl made a claim for compensation against the hospital through her mother – alleging that a “catalogue of errors” and a lack of adequate care had caused her condition for which she is fully dependant on care from her family and helpers.
After an investigation, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust admitted liability and a compensation package was negotiated which will see the woman receive a lump sum of 2.2 million pounds immediately and periodic payments estimated to be worth 3.3 million pounds throughout the remainder of her life.
Speaking after the settlement had been announced, a spokesperson for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it was pleased an agreement had been approved. They added “The trust would like to take this opportunity to wish the patient and her family well for the future.”