A high court judge will today be asked to approve a scheme expected to end in a £10m payout for nearly 500 children wrongly diagnosed with epilepsy and reduced to what parents termed "zombies" by years of unnecessary drugs.
The children were patients of Andrew Holton, a consultant paediatrician who faces charges of serious professional misconduct before the Gen eral Medical Council in September. He took up the post of paediatric neurologist at Leicester royal infirmary in 1990, though he had no such specialist training, and was suspended in 2001. A review was ordered into his practice after other healthcare staff raised questions about the large numbers of children he was treating for epilepsy.
He had looked after more than 9,000 children since his appointment in 1990 and had treated 1,948 of them for epilepsy, misdiagnosing one in three, according to the review.
The legal claims allege that he also overdosed children, whether or not they were epileptic, with anticonvulsants and associated medication such as steroids.
The groundbreaking settlement, set up after the NHS admitted liability, is based on an evaluation of claims that avoids years of complex court hearings with neurologists' reports for both sides: it involves an independent panel consiering each case and the assessments being used by lawyers to value the claims.
In a further departure, parents will be able to question the panel of doctors about their child's case.
The law firms Freeth Cartwright and Alexander Harris, which are representing most of the families, negotiated the settlement scheme with the lawyers representing the NHS.
Paul Balen, of Freeth Cartwright, said: "Right from the outset we were aware that involvement of the parents in the resolution process was critical. Parents have a key part to play in this case. They frequently felt they had let down their children because they had accepted the diagnosis and treatment given by Dr Holton.
"Many parents described how their children were reduced to drug-induced zombies. They lost years of joy in watching their child's formative years. Whilst no amount of money could replace the years of childhood lost due to misdiagnosis or mistreatment at least the settlement scheme removes the need for a battle in the courts."
Richard Follis, of Alexander Harris, who acted for the Leicester Epilepsy Concern Parents and Carers Group, added: "Traditional litigation would have taken considerable time and cost. Individual cases of this nature can take years to settle. This unique scheme has involved strong cooperation from all parties involved. It will form new case law for legal professionals to use in the future."
The high court is expected to approve 11 settlements this week, with payouts ranging from £4,000 to £48,000. One judge will approve the settlements to ensure consistency.
Steve Walker, the chief executive of the NHS Litigation Authority, which handles negligence claims against the health service, said: "Our main concern has been to ensure these difficult claims were properly investigated and valued with as little additional stress to the children and their families and carers as was humanly possible.
"The combined efforts of all have made this unique scheme for the resolution of these complex claims possible."
