People with mental health difficulties are entitled to look to the NHS to protect them from themselves. In a case on point, a young man who was gravely injured when he tried to take his own life by jumping from the first-floor window of his home received seven-figure compensation.
It was alleged that the incident would not have occurred had an NHS trust’s mental health team provided him with appropriate care and support after he suffered an acute psychotic episode. He sustained a brain haemorrhage and multiple fractures in the incident, rendering him wholly wheelchair dependent.
He has cognitive and serious speech difficulties but is nevertheless able to make himself understood very effectively using eye-driven communication technology. His charm and sense of humour continue to shine through and he remains the intelligent, enquiring and resourceful person that he was before.
The trust denied liability but, following negotiations, agreed to pay 52.5 per cent of the full value of his damages claim. On that basis, he would receive a lump sum of £2,036,500, together with index-linked payments of £193,750 a year to cover the costs of his care for the rest of his life.
Approving the settlement, the High Court found that it was in his best interests. To his enormous credit and that of his devoted family, he retains an admirable zest for life and sense of purpose. The Court hoped that the settlement would enable him to look to the future with a sense of continued hope and security.