30 hour treatment delay left young boy with serious brain damage

It has been reported that in a case which took nine years to settle, a brain-damaged boy has finally received a substantial settlement for a 30-hour treatment delay.

Matthew Ellerbeck, was rushed to the A&E department of the Royal London Hospital in 1997 after a convulsion. He was suffering from herpes Simplex Encephalitis. Anti-viral treatment (acyclovir) should have been administered immediately but there was a 30-hour delay.

He sustained serious brain damage as a result of the delay. As a result he suffers daily epileptic attacks and has severe learning difficulties, as well as serious attention and behavioural problems.

The case was settled two months before the case was due to go to trial at the High Court. Barts & the London NHS Trust had accepted that the treatment-delay was negligent, but argued that most of the damage would have occurred anyway. The settlement provides for periodical (annual) payments to be made for the rest of the claimant’s life to cover his care and accommodation needs.

Matthew’s mother Susan Culling said: “I was determined to press on and seek justice for Matthew. I am very pleased at the level of compensation which will make a huge difference to Matthew’s life.”

The family’s lawyer Richard Earle said: “I am absolutely delighted that substantial damages have been recovered on Matthew’s behalf, in what was an extremely complex case.

“Both Matthew’s lawyers and medical team worked extremely hard to overcome the defendant’s arguments on causation. This will improve the quality of Matthew’s life and provide protection for the future.”

Medical negligence lawyer Lucy Norton of Boyes Turner said: “This is a very good outcome for what would have been a very complex case. The majority of medical negligence cases would not take such a long time to come to trial but it will have been worth the wait for the long term security of the Claimant.”

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