Historic £10m payout for brain damaged Lincoln boy

A child in Lincoln who was left with severe brain damage during his birth has won a settlement from ULHT of over £10 million.

The sum, paid to Aaron Crosby (9), is one of the biggest the NHS has ever paid out in history.

The High Court heard on November 18 that Rebecca Crosby (now 38) of Urban Street in Lincoln, attended Lincoln County Hospital when her contractions started, and the birth progressed normally.

However, she was later given a drug designed to stimulate contractions, but the doses were higher than NICE guidelines.

This led to Rebecca having uterine hyper stimulation, starving her unborn baby of oxygen.

Additionally, staff also “lost contact” with the heart monitor, so failed to take steps to check the baby’s heart rate.

Aaron was left with brain damage, athetoid cerebal palsy and epilepsy. He is wheelchair bound, can’t talk and cannot use any of limbs, so requires 24-hour care.

Aaron Crosby

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust Trust admitted liability in court.

With the help of a legal team from Bridge McFarland, the family were awarded a compensation pay out worth around £10 million.

The settlement is made up of a £3.25 million immediate pay out, and staged annual payments for the rest of Aaron’s life.

Bridge McFarland partner Ian Sprakes and associate solicitor Danielle Barney, the lawyers who represented the family, said the fact the pay-out was one of the biggest in the UK reflected the enormous costs the family faced in taking care of Aaron, the family’s only child.

In a statement released on behalf of the family, they said: “The Crosbys are relieved that this case has finally been settled. It has been a long and harrowing case for both the family and the lawyers fighting on their behalf.

“Aaron will require 24-hour care, a specially adapted home and transport, a variety of equipment and aids and physiotherapy and still won’t be able to live the kind of life he deserves.

“After a long fight on behalf of the Crosby family we are satisfied that the hospital has finally admitted liability and the family can now concentrate on trying to make Aaron’s life as positive and comfortable as possible.

“The family now hope that lessons have been learned from this case and the same mistakes can be avoided in future. They sincerely wish that no other families face the same nightmare they have endured.

“Family’s like the Crosby’s rightly deserve both justice and compensation for the terrible ordeal they have suffered and enormous costs of care they face. We are delighted that we have been able to win both on their behalf.”

In a statement, ULHT said: “We would like to apologise to Aaron and his family and recognise that there were aspects of his care which did not meet the high standards that we normally deliver.

“The Trust is pleased that the hearing has been brought to a mutually satisfactory conclusion and hopes that the agreed settlement will assist Aaron to achieve his full potential in the future.

“Any issues relating to quality of care for patients are taken very seriously and we continuously strive to improve our services.

“Practices and guidelines regularly change, and we always ensure our local practices are in line with national guidance.”

This is the third payout by ULHT to Lincoln families in recent weeks. After an upfront £2.6 million settlement to a Lincoln teen left with brain damage, ULHT also apologised to the family of a woman administered antibiotics of which she was allergic, subsequently causing fatal harm.