Hospital admits clinical negligence after failing to check blood pressure which caused brain injury
- 16.11.2015
- JeremySmith
- Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion
I read recently of the very sad case involving 13 year old Ben Harman, who tragically suffered a severe brain injury soon after his birth when the hospital failed to spot that he had catastrophically low levels of blood sugar.
As a result, Ben has severe autism, is profoundly mentally, emotional and physically disabled and will need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.
I did note, however, two very pleasing aspects of the judgment of Mr Justice Turner who heard the case in the High Court.
Firstly, he agreed with Ben’s parents that the hospital at fault should pay for the cost of the specialist school that Ben has to attend, rather than the burden falling on the Local Authority.
Secondly, he also agreed with Ben’s parents that in his later years Ben should be cared for at home rather than see out his life in an institution and he ordered the hospital to pay the costs of the care package that Ben will need to allow this to happen.
The judge, not surprisingly, had very high regard for Ben’s parents in this most difficult of situations, commenting on the particular fortitude with which they have coped with the stresses and strains of looking after Ben over the years as a strong measure of their dedication to him.