A seven-year-old girl has been awarded £10.1 million in compensation from King’s College Hospital Trust, after it accepted liability for her serious brain injuries, BBC News reports.
The High Court judge ruling on the case revealed she had been moved by footage of Eva Totham, who was starved of oxygen at birth in 2007 and now suffers from severe cerebral palsy.
The damages figure, which is believed to be one of the highest ever made for a clinical negligence claim following a contested trial, covers Eva’s past and future care and loss of earnings after it was ruled she would most likely have gone to university.
Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing, at the High Court, called Eva, from south-east London, a “beautiful, engaging child”, adding that it was clear from the DVD footage presented to her that she is “determined and concentrates hard on any given activity”.
“I had a strong sense of an energetic, inquisitive mind trapped in a body that will not do what Eva would wish it could do,” Liang continued.
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust agreed compensation for the majority of the items claimed, but questioned the £1.4 million that was being claimed for pain and suffering.
The judge said, however, that she believes Eva, who attends a mainstream primary school, was aware that she is different from other children her age.
“I am satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Eva is beginning to be aware of the limitations which her injuries now impose,” she explained.
“And that that realisation will be an increasing source of frustration and perhaps unhappiness.”
The ruling ends a six-year fight for justice by Eva’s family.
