Back injury dad wins seven-figure NHS payout

A family man, who faces life in a wheelchair after doctors failed to treat a back injury with sufficient urgency, can look forward to a better future after securing a seven-figure settlement of his compensation claim against the NHS.

After the father-of-four suffered a slipped disc, a GP failed to make an urgent referral to hospital. Seven months passed before he was given a hospital appointment, by which time he was unable to stand independently, and further weeks passed before a scan revealed that his spinal cord was under pressure.

He underwent emergency surgery, but was left paralysed from the chest downwards and entirely dependent on a wheelchair and his wife's care. He has since become morbidly obese; his life expectancy is substantially shortened and he has shown a reluctance to accept professional care.

After a personal injury claim was brought aginst the man's GP and the NHS trust which managed the hospital, judgment was entered against both of them. His compensation settlement comprises a £1.74 million lump sum, plus index-linked and tax-free annual payments to cover the costs of his care for life.

Contact: Paul Finn