Misdiagnosis sees multi-million pound settlement
Friday, June 29th, 2012Morwenna Ganz, 26, a former student of Waldergrave School has been awarded a multi-million pound settlement after she was left with severe brain damage.
The High Court ruled that Dr Amanda Childs and Dr John Lloyd were guilty of negligence after wrongfully misdiagnosing Miss Ganz when she was 14-years-old with having a viral illness, failing to noticed it was pneumonia.
Miss Ganz will now be able to use the undisclosed compensation amount to pay for 24 hour care and specialist equipment that she will need for the rest of her life.
Her concerned parents took her to Kingston Hospital 12 years ago where she then fell into a coma and was left with severe brain damage.
Bernadette McGhie, the familly’s lawyer, said that Dr Lloyd and Dr Childs had appealed the decision, but it was later dropped which lead to them agreeing the final settlement.
Ms McGhie concluded that without the means of legal aid, the family would have found it impossible to fund the case. From April 2013, the Government plans to limit legal aid to children who have suffered brain injury resulting in severe disability at birth or within eight weeks.
“We were convinced Morwenna had a strong case and were able to fund the preliminary investigations,” said Miss Ganz’s father, Marcus
“But it would have been impossible for us to finance the resources for the extended period required, without legal aid to carry the case through to its successful outcome.”
Judge Justice David Foskett ruled that Miss Ganz’s brain damage could have been avoided if the doctors had got her to hospital earlier.
Miss Ganz’s intellect has been preserved and although she cannot speak, she is able to communicate in three languages through computer technology and signing systems.
She has been unable to complete her studies but her long-term goal is to go to university.
