Family win £12m payout over son’s injuries

Toby Hart, of Bedale, North Yorkshire, will need 24-hour care for the rest of his life, Mrs Justice Nicola Davies was told during a High Court hearing in London yesterday.

The judge gave her backing to a settlement - which included a £2m lump sum and annual payments of nearly £500,000 - agreed between lawyers representing Toby’s parents, Michelle and Matthew Hart, and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Friarage Hospital, where Toby was born.

Lawyers for the couple believe the payout, which will cover the cost of treatments, specialist equipment and adaptations to the family’s home, is the largest annual payment ever agreed.

A spokesman for Irwin Mitchell, who represented the couple, said: “During his birth, Toby’s heart rate slowed drastically but medical staff failed to spot he was in distress and he was born 25 minutes later than he should have been, starving his brain of oxygen and leaving him permanently brain damaged.”

Toby suffers from cerebral palsy, epilepsy, has a severe learning disability and is registered blind.

Angela Kirtley, a specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said Toby’s parents had been “incredibly resilient”.

“The mistakes made during his birth were unacceptable and have had a life-changing effect not just on Toby, but the entire family and all those close to them. He will be dependent on carers forever and it was vital that they received the support they needed,” she said.

Toby’s mother said it was a “massive relief” to know that their son’s care and rehabilitation would now be taken care of. The couple have called on the NHS to invest in better training for midwives and more support for parents to help them cope with babies suffering from serious birth injuries.

Mrs Hart said: “Being thrust into this situation without any warning when Toby was born opened our eyes to the lack of support for new parents of babies with birth injuries.”

She said the family felt “extremely isolated” after leaving hospital and that they faced a “constant battle” for the support, equipment and therapies Toby needed,

Mrs Justice Nicola Davies told Mr and Mrs Hart: “I hope that what this money does is to give you some peace of mind. There is at least in place some financial stability.”

Last month controversial plans to downgrade the maternity services at the Friarage looked set to go ahead after calls for a review were rejected by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. The proposals, which end consultant-led maternity and paediatric services, had sparked protests, backed by Richmond MP William Hague.

A spokeswoman for the hospital trust said it acknowledged that “no amount of money” can adequately compensate for the damage suffered, but it hoped the sum would provide for Toby’s needs.