Cerebral palsy sufferer Owen handed £8m payout

10:23am Wednesday 2nd July 2008

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A NINE-year-old boy has received more than £8 million in compensation after failures by Wordsley Hospital staff during his birth left him severely disabled.

Owen Johnson, of Springfield Crescent, Dudley, suffers from choreothetoid cerebral palsy, after blunders during his birth at the old Stream Road hospital on April 18 1999 left him deprived of oxygen during the first ten minutes of his life.

Owen's family case against Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust was approved in the High Court, Birmingham, on Tuesday and is thought to be one of the largest ever cerebral palsy claims.

The £8 million settlement includes a lump sum payout of £2 million with annual payments to allow Owen to buy the 24-hour care and needs he will require for the rest of his life.

Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust accepted they were at fault during Owen's birth during which maternity staff failed to examine an abnormal CTG trace which indicated foetal distress.

Independent medical experts have since found that if he had have been born 17 minutes earlier, he would have been born neurologically intact.

Instead, the Sledmere Primary School pupil has been left permanently brain damaged, unable to dress and feed himself properly as well as not being able to go to the toilet unaided and has problems with his balance and mobility.

Speaking after the hearing, his delighted mum Sally, aged 34, said:"I am relieved that today's settlement will mean that Owen can be cared for in the way he needs, for the rest of his life.

"I still feel angry that simple mistakes, which should never have happened, led to Owen's condition.

"If I had received better care he would have been born without the problems that limit so much of what he is able to do.

"He is a really determined little boy and never satisfied just sitting around, however the fact he wants to be out and about has meant he needs more help and support as he grows older, rather than less."

The family now plan to use part of the settlement to find a house which can be adapted for Owen's needs - the rest is to go into a trust fund for Owen's future.

Paul Farenden, chief executive of The Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We are pleased the court has approved the settlement agreed between the parties. The Trust wishes Owen and his family all the very best for the future."