High Court approve epilepsy misdiagnosis compensation claims
01/01/2000
Thank you for all your time and excellent work and rest assured that if myself or family or friends require any legal help in the future I will refer them to yourselves.
Michael, Crawley
News Release - Wednesday 15 June 2005
A High Court Judge today approved a settlement scheme that will lead to compensation payments for hundreds of Leicester children wrongly treated for epilepsy by Dr Andrew Holton.
Richard Follis of Alexander Harris said:
"All concerned acknowledged that the settlement scheme is innovative, effective, and was very carefully put together by experienced solicitors. We welcome the full and public apology from the Hospital given in open court."
Solicitors representing both the families affected and the NHS negotiated a ground breaking scheme which will avoid years of complex court hearings.
Legal firms Freeth Cartwright and Alexander Harris - who spearheaded the negotiations for the families - both praised the NHS' acceptance of legal liability and its agreement to the adoption of an alternate dispute resolution (ADR) scheme which they devised jointly with Browne Jacobson, the solicitors acting on behalf of the National Health Service Litigation Authority (the body responsible for dealing with clinical negligence claims against the NHS in England).
Under the scheme a panel of experts considered each individual case. Their assessment was then used by lawyers to value the claim. Parents had the opportunity to question the panel about their child's experiences.
Paul Balen of Freeth Cartwright explained: "Right from the outset we were aware that involvement of the parents in the resolution process was critical. Parents have a key part to play in this case. They frequently felt they had let down their children because they had accepted the diagnosis and treatment given by Dr Holton. Many parents described how their children were reduced to drug induced zombies. They had lost years of joy in watching their child's formative years. Whilst no amount of money could replace the years of childhood lost due to misdiagnosis or mistreatment at least the settlement scheme removed the need for a battle in the courts."
Richard Follis of Alexander Harris, who also acted for the Leicester Epilepsy Concern Parents and Carers Group added: "Families have already waited a long time for a resolution to their claims. Traditional litigation would have taken a considerable length of time and cost. Individual cases of this nature can take years to settle. This unique scheme has involved strong cooperation from all parties involved. It will form new case law for legal professionals to use in the future."
The High Court Judge approved eleven settlements today, ranging from compensation awards of approximately £4,000 to £48,000. One judge will be used to approve the hundreds of settlements to come to ensure consistency.
Spokesperson, Steve Walker, Chief Executive of the NHSLA, added: "Our main concern has been to ensure these difficult claims were properly investigated and valued with as little additional stress to the children and their families and carers as was humanly possible. This could only be achieved with a high degree of cooperation between the parties and their lawyers, and the willingness of experts to participate in the process. The combined efforts of all have made this unique scheme for the resolution of these complex claims possible."
Dr Holton is currently facing GMC proceedings which have been adjourned until September. They are expected to reach a decision on Holton's future ability to practice.
Notes to Editors:
Background
1.On the 21st May 2001, Dr Holton, who had been practising as a Consultant Paediatrician at Leicester Royal Infirmary in Leicester, was suspended pending an investigation into his management of his caseload of epileptic children following concerns expressed by various personnel in the Health Service, culminating in a decision by Dr Allan Cole, Medical Director at Leicester Royal Infirmary to contact the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health for help in reviewing Dr Holton's practice.
2.Details of the procedural side were subsequently the subject of an independent review carried out by the Trent Regional Director of Public Health.
3.Dr Holton had practised in Leicester for a number of years effectively taking on the role of a Paediatric Neurologist although he had no particular training in that field. He developed an interest in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy in children and was effectively practising on his own.
4.Because of the Trust's concerns about the reliability of Dr Holton's diagnoses and treatment of epilepsy Dr Cole, as Clinical Director, contacted the President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health for advice as to how to review Dr Holton's practice. He was then referred to the British Paediatric Neurological Association (BPNA) which was headed by Dr Richard Newton, its President. He, together with Dr Richard Appleton, Consultant Paediatric Neurologist from Liverpool, conducted an initial review of twelve cases and spoke to a number of staff at Leicester, as a result of which they concluded that there was sufficient evidence to recommend a case by case review of all Dr Holton's epileptic patients' files.
5.An interim report published by BPNA in November 2001 identified areas of concern in Dr Holton's practice.
6.The BPNA set up and developed a three stage review process. The first stage involved the manual examination of just under 10,000 files. The second involved 1,948 children with a diagnosis of epilepsy or who were on anti-epileptic drugs. Their cases were subject to a detailed paper review.
7.As a result of the review, as a third stage some children (where it was felt that the child had been wrongly diagnosed or was being wrongly treated) were sent for a second opinion, either by replacement Paediatric Neurologists in Leicester or at other centres in the country.
8.The results of the review and the procedure itself were set out in a report prepared by Dr Cole on the 4th February 2003.
9.Following the publicity surrounding this review, around 500 sets of parents concerned contacted solicitors to claim compensation. Freeth Cartwright and Alexander Harris act for the vast majority of claimants. Browne Jacobson act for NHSLA and the hospital
10.The legal claims arise because Dr Holton either diagnosed epilepsy without justification or treated epilepsy whether or not correctly diagnosed with excessive dosage and excessive numbers of anti-convulsants and associated medication such as steroids.
11.Traditional litigation involving each side instructing their own Paediatric Neurologists on top of those involved in the internal review and subsequent treatment of these children would have made it highly improbable that the vast majority of the children who wished to bring claims would have been able to have been seen for medical legal purposes by a Paediatric Neurologist willing to give testimony in Court for until many years into the future.
12.Court approval of the dispute resolution procedure will enable each child's individual compensation award to be approved by the court as soon as settlements have been reached. The court will also be requested to approve the valuations agreed in the first cases to have been settled under this procedure.
Contacts:
Paul Balen
Freeth Cartwright LLP Solicitors
Express Buildings
29 Upper Parliament Street
Nottingham
NG1 2AQ
Tel 44 (0)115 936 9388
Fax 44 (0)115 859 9623
Mobile 07767 673200
paul.balen@freethcartwright.co.uk
media contact Richard Gee 07710328768
Richard Follis
Alexander Harris solicitors
701-705 Warwick Road
Solihull
West Midlands
B91 3DA
Tel: 08700 77 88 77
Fax: 08700 77 88 76
richard.follis@alexanderharris.co.uk
media management department 08700 77 88 77.
Steve Walker
Chief Executive
National Health Service Litigation Authority
Napier House
24 High Holborn
London
WC1V 6AZ
Tel: 0207 4308701
Fax: 0207 4054286
Steve.walker@nhsla.com
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