Court gives 1.7m payout to brain injury teenager



A young teenage footballer who was left with permanent brain damage due to a collision on a school playing field will be given 1.7m in compensation, a High Court has ruled. The youngster, Rees Ashwell-Ross, aged 13, was seven in December 2004 when he clashed heads at his Lincoln primary school. After the accident, he began to experience headaches, but despite a call to the NHS helpline he was only hospitalised the next morning. He suffered from a grand mal seizure and had to undergo emergency surgery at Lincoln County Hospital to save his life. His life was saved but he will now require a wheelchair to get around and will struggle from communication and mobility difficulties. His family of Hainton Road in Lincoln sued West Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust, claiming a negligent delay in his treatment. It was argued in court that if an appropriate response had be taken his injuries could have been avoided. In May 2009 the PCT agreed to pay damages on the basis of 75% liability. At Londons High Court, Judge Jonathon Foster approved the 1.7m settlement package for the teenager. The representative for the family stated, he is an impressive young man doing very well at school. He is somewhat a maths whiz, is doing very well at German, and Ive just been talking to him about this wheelchair basketball, which is also going very well.