London and South East law firm Penningtons Solicitors LLP has secured a settlement of €2.65 million on behalf of a 33 year old Italian man, Ettore Napoli, who has been left permanently disabled following a London hospital's failure to adequately treat his meningitis.
The compensation was approved following a hearing in the High Court in London on 15 January 2009. Mr Napoli, who was living in London at the time of his illness, was treated at the Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington, Kent – part of Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust - in May and early June 2003. He visited the hospital with a high fever, malaise and pain on two occasions in the May and was initially told that he probably had a urinary tract infection and a virus, given oral antibiotics and sent home. When he returned to the same hospital three days later with worsening symptoms, he was admitted but underwent limited investigations and was not given broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics.
Over the course of the next week his condition deteriorated. He developed paralysis down one side of his body and began fitting. He was transferred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London where it was discovered that he had suffered cerebral infarcts in two cerebral arteries (akin to a stroke) as a result of inadequately treated meningitis.
Despite spending six months undergoing rehabilitation in hospital, firstly in London and then in his native Italy, Mr Napoli has significant, permanent disabilities. He has severe weakness down the right side of his body affecting his mobility and the use of his right hand. He also has a significant cognitive impairment and expressive dysphasia affecting his ability to manage his affairs and communicate. He is unable to continue working in the family ceramics business or to sculpt.
Penningtons Solicitors LLP brought a claim on Mr Napoli's behalf on the basis that there had been a failure, on the part of his treating doctors, to adequately investigate and treat his meningitis with broad spectrum, intravenous antibiotics.
The defendant, Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust, made limited admissions in relation to the treatment Mr Napoli received but denied that earlier treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics would have prevented the stroke from which Mr Napoli suffered.
The case was listed for trial in March 2009 but, following negotiations, a settlement of €2.65 million has been agreed and now approved by the High Court.
Mr Napoli's claim was funded by the Legal Services Commission.
Alison Appelboam Meadows, a partner in Penningtons Solicitors LLP's clinical negligence group, lead the legal team representing Mr Napoli. Commenting on the award, she said: "I am pleased that we have reached a settlement which adequately reflects the seriousness of Mr Napoli's condition and his substantial care needs. While the money he is to receive will never compensate for his injuries, it will significantly improve his quality of life."