£8m for boy left disabled

A schoolboy aged nine has been awarded more than £8 million in compensation after a series of hospital blunders in Dudley left him severely disabled.

Owen Johnson has cerebral palsy and is unable to dress or feed himself properly but amazed experts by learning to walk. His parents were faced with selling their house to pay for his care.

They said today's settlement at the High Court in Birmingham will secure his future.

Owen, previously of Springfield Crescent Kates Hill, Dudley, was deprived of oxygen during his birth at Wordsley Hospital in 1999.

After the hearing his mother Sally Johnson, 34, said: "I am relieved that today's settlement will mean that Owen can be cared for in the way he needs, for the rest of his life."

After attending the Foundation for Conductive Education, in Birmingham, which teaches people with movement disabilities better coordination, he has made miraculous progress.

The Sledmere Primary School pupil has also had big support from his teachers.

Mandy Luckman, medical negligence specialist with Birmingham law firm Irwin Mitchell, who represented the family said: "Owen has suffered significant disabilities as a consequence of the failures of the Trust.

"Thanks largely to both Owen and Sally's personal determination and the hard work of staff at both the Foundation for Conductive Education and Sledmere Primary School, he has amazed medical experts.

"Owen can now walk short distances and his speech is improving. However, we need to balance the progress he has made with the fact that, he will need 24 hour care and support for the rest of his life." The payout is a £2m lump sum and annual awards for the rest of Owen's life.