Astham Advice Helpline Industry News - NHS made Scotland’s biggest compensation award

The family of a boy left severely disabled at birth due to a hospital error received £5.25m – a sum widely believed to be the largest compensation payout in Scotland. The out-of-court settlement, which was not known publicly, was discovered following a case at the Court of Session. The boy’s mother had made an application for the release of £500,000 to buy and modify a house for the child. 

The ruling of the court revealed that the mother sued the Argyll & Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS trust for damages in respect of negligence in the management of the delivery her baby, who went on to suffer from cerebral palsy. The damages were taken on by the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Highland boards when the Argyll & Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS trust became redundant. The court further clarified that the payments had been made and the fund was now held in bank accounts by the mother’s solicitors.

Concerns have been raised over the widespread use of out-of-court settlements by the health trusts when dealing with cases of clinical negligence, the fact that such huge sums as the amount in this case are not public and the difficulties faced by many victims of medical blunders in terms of bringing legal actions at all.