Lincolnshire Hospital Trust awards £10.8m clinical negligence award to 11 year-old Milly
Clinical Negligence News : 10 May 2012
Milly Evans, an 11-year old girl who suffered tragic injuries at birth was awarded compensation worth £10.8 million at London’s High Court on Monday- a sum which is thought to be one of the highest awarded for clinical negligence.
Shortly after Milly was born on March 1st 2001, she suffered a seizure in Lincoln County Hospitals’ neo-natal unit where she had been transferred for resuscitation.
Andy and Kate, her parents, argued that the baby’s fetal distress would have been spotted sooner had the baby's heart had been properly monitored by the midwife. Furthermore, if the distress had been spotted, they claimed that Milly would have been delivered earlier without suffering the devastating injuries that she did.
Susan Rodway QC, the couples counsel, explained to the judge, Sir Robert Nelson, that it was a tragic case. She stated: "It is yet another incident of an avoidable accident at birth which caused devastating injuries."
Milly suffers from cerebral palsy and as a result of this, requires 24-hour help and care with every aspect of daily life. The 11 year-old is confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak, having to communicate through sophisticated eye-gaze equipment. Despite these limitations on Milly, her intellect has remained fairly well intact.
She sat in court smiling as Sir Robert Nelson approved the settlement involving a lump sum of £5.866m and lifelong payments rising to £204,000 a year, assuring treatment, education and care for the rest of her life.
He told Millys father, 45-year-old Mr Evans, that he and his 41-year-old wife, Kate, had both done a "fantastic" job. "The love and devotion you have shown to Milly with her problems has been enormous," he added.
Paul Rees, a lawyer for United Lincolnshire Hospital NHS Trust, paid tribute to the family and offered them an unreserved apology for the way in which the events surrounding Milly’s birth unfolded. Mr Rees stated, "No amount of fine words can put right that wrong. I know that and everyone in court knows that. But they are entitled to hear in open court that apology."
Millys mother, who lives with her family in Lincolnshire, said of her daughters condition; "I feel utter grief and loss for the life that Milly could have had if she had she not been injured.. Unfortunately, she is trapped inside a body that does not function, and she is not able to do the very basic things that we all take for granted”. On behalf of her family, Mrs Evans added, “We are over the moon that not only will Milly be looked after financially for the rest of her life, we can now pay for the technology and modifications needed to help her achieve her full potential."
Sylvia Knight, the hospitals director of nursing and patient services said: "I offer my unreserved apologies on behalf of the Trust, for the tragic incident in 2001 that has affected the life of Milly and her family. Since this incident, we have made many changes to our practice that will help ensure this does not happen again.