Frimley Park NHS: Girl secures £39m after hospital meningitis error

A girl whose limbs were amputated after she was wrongly discharged from hospital has had a £39m settlement approved in the High Court.

She went to Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey with "red flags for meningitis and sepsis" but was given paracetamol and discharged, her lawyers said.

When her parents took her back to A&E a few hours later, she was diagnosed with meningococcal sepsis and went on to suffer multi-organ failure.

The NHS trust accepted liability.

The young girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had above-knee amputations of both legs and above-elbow amputations of her arms.

Her family brought a claim, arguing if she had been treated urgently with antibiotics, she would not have been as ill and would have avoided the amputations.

The High Court heard Neil Dardis, chief executive of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, had apologised in a letter to the parents and said her care "fell below the standard (the girl) was entitled to expect" and she should not have been discharged.

Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel KC, representing the family, said the girl had lost all four limbs after "not being diagnosed promptly enough in relation to meningitis".

She said she was "an extraordinarily brave little girl who is managing in school to do very well academically".

Bradley Martin KC, for the trust, said: "There is no amount of money that can truly compensate (her) for her injuries.

"She will have access to the care and technology she needs."

Judge Caspar Glyn KC said he would "unhesitatingly" approve the settlement, to be paid partly in a lump sum and the remainder in annual payments for the rest of her life.

Paying tribute to the girl and her family, he said: "Money cannot bring who your daughter was back, but it can secure her future."

Representing the family, lawyer Deborah Nadel said: "This child's injuries and severe disabilities were completely avoidable with proper care.

"All the red flags for meningitis and sepsis were there for doctors to see. Specific protocols for treating these illnesses exist to protect patients and doctors, but they only work if they are followed."

A spokesperson for the NHS trust said: "We are very sorry for the claimant's injuries and we understand no amount of money can fully compensate for them.

"However we are pleased that the settlement has been approved and we hope the agreed damages will ensure that the claimant can live as independently as possible in the future."

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