Settlement Means More Independence For Andrew
Clinical Negligence Lawyers
02/04/2008
Clinical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have secured a record multi-million pound settlement for a 20-year-old Sunderland man who has battled against severe cerebral palsy since birth.
Wheelchair-bound Andrew Dixon, of Grangetown, is looking forward to more independence after the High Court at Newcastle today finalised the details of a multi-million pound compensation payment by North East Strategic Health Authority, following mistakes made during Andrew's birth at Sunderland Hospital in 1987.
The money will be delivered as carefully-structured payments for the rest of Andrew’s life and managed by the Court of Protection to ensure it is spent only in his best interests and handled by the Court of Protection team at Irwin Mitchell Solicitors.
The hearing ended an 11-year battle by the Dixon family to secure adequate levels of support for Andrew – they only made significant progress after securing the help of Newcastle law firm Irwin Mitchell at the start of 2007.
A key breakthrough in the Dixon case came last August when the hospital trust consented to judgment being entered in Andrew's favour, meaning it had effectively accepted full responsibility for Andrew's injury.
The Dixons are now looking to move out of their terraced cottage to a larger house which will allow Andrew to have his own space, while they will be able to afford the professional 24 hour care he needs, better equipment such as a more advanced electric wheelchair so he can get around on his own, together with communication aids and an appropriate vehicle.
Andrew's dad Derek, who works at Sunderland College's Bede Centre, said: "We hope this will make a huge difference to the quality of Andrew's life – he will be 21 in August and, like anyone of that age, does not want to be around his parents all the time.
"It will benefit Andrew a lot to be able to have his own space and become far more independent – he likes to be with friends and is attending Tyneside Metropolitan College.
"With all this in mind the decision has been very well-timed and we are grateful for the help from Irwin Mitchell and the way they made such rapid progress for us. I wish we had gone to them much sooner.
"It was important that we never gave up even when we seemed to be making little progress until this year. It has never been about the money – we just want to secure Andrew’s future and make him as happy as we can."
Angela Curran, partner and birth trauma specialist at Irwin Mitchell, said Andrew’s legal claim was based on the fact that his mother's labour was mis-managed and not monitored appropriately resulting in Andrew being compromised and sustaining a brain injury.
She said: "This is a huge payout and is the largest ever to be awarded in the north east, but it has been carefully calculated to meet Andrew's demanding care needs, now and for the rest of his life.
"The Dixon family will not be sitting on a pot of gold – the payout will be held and managed by the court of protection and can only be used to help provide care and comfort for Andrew.
"While Mrs Dixon was in labour, Andrew's heart rate became dangerously low and Mrs Dixon was given drugs to speed up the labour but these unfortunately made the situation worse.
"No amount of money can compensate for what Andrew has lost and what the family has been through but soon, via the Court of Protection, they should have access to funds that will allow Andrew to far more independence and higher quality of life.
"The Dixons are a wonderful family and it has been a pleasure to be able to act so quickly to help them secure a better future for Andrew. This financial settlement means Andrew can access all the technology he needs that will open the world up to him."