Ex-prisoner gets US$7m
Source: Agencies |
April 15, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A PRISONER who suffered catastrophic brain damage after he fell from an upper bunk bed during a seizure in jail has been awarded compensation of 4.7 million pounds (US$7.26 million).
Justice Mackay approved an agreed settlement that will pay for the 24-hour care which Ryan St George, now 41, will always need, the Press Association reported.
The judge had heard that, on his admission to Brixton prison in October 1997 for a four-month sentence for theft, St George had disclosed he was a heroin user, a heavy drinker and had been having fits.
The following month he was moved from a bottom bunk to an upper bunk, from which he fell 1.8 meters onto a concrete floor during a seizure, and went into an epileptic fit lasting an hour and three quarters.
In 2007, Justice Mackay ruled that "delays and deficiencies" on the part of prison staff amounted to negligence and said the Home Office was 85 percent to blame for the injuries.
The following year, the Court of Appeal allowed St George's appeal against the finding of 15 percent contributory negligence, which was made on the basis that his own "lifestyle choices" had contributed to his condition and caused the initial fit.
The judge said breaches in duty of care - the delay in treating St George and a failure to maintain his airway and administer oxygen - caused him to suffer brain damage.
Justice Mackay approved an agreed settlement that will pay for the 24-hour care which Ryan St George, now 41, will always need, the Press Association reported.
The judge had heard that, on his admission to Brixton prison in October 1997 for a four-month sentence for theft, St George had disclosed he was a heroin user, a heavy drinker and had been having fits.
The following month he was moved from a bottom bunk to an upper bunk, from which he fell 1.8 meters onto a concrete floor during a seizure, and went into an epileptic fit lasting an hour and three quarters.
In 2007, Justice Mackay ruled that "delays and deficiencies" on the part of prison staff amounted to negligence and said the Home Office was 85 percent to blame for the injuries.
The following year, the Court of Appeal allowed St George's appeal against the finding of 15 percent contributory negligence, which was made on the basis that his own "lifestyle choices" had contributed to his condition and caused the initial fit.
The judge said breaches in duty of care - the delay in treating St George and a failure to maintain his airway and administer oxygen - caused him to suffer brain damage.
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