Doctors thought woman's condition was caused by alcohol but she had rare disease and was left paralysed

The 51-year-old was a keen horsewoman and had been working as a full-time carer when she started vomiting up to seven times a day.

She was initially told she was likely to be suffering from a virus before doctors at Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust concluded that her illness was alcohol-related.

In fact she was suffering from a rare metabolic disorder called acute intermittent porphyria which most medics would never encounter in their careers.

The woman, who declined to be named, now suffers from paralysis in her arms and legs, can’t drive and her husband has had to give up his job to look after her.

Over a four-week period in the autumn of 2014, she was seen on numerous occasions in A&E, and as an in-patient, suffering from worsening symptoms, having had numerous seizures, and suffering from muscle weakness, abdominal pain, blurred vision and “flashing lights”. She began losing the power in her legs and became increasingly unsteady on her feet.

She now needs to use a wheelchair when she goes out.

The woman later instructed Hudgells Solicitors, who claimed doctors should have kept an open mind and “followed the symptoms”. However they stuck to their diagnosis for four weeks after she’d had her last drink. Solicitors said she had never “typically drunk alcohol in amounts indicative of dependence or withdrawal” and medics should have taken a full alcohol history.

The claim alleged that medics should have fully considered alternative causes, and the diagnosis of porphyria should have been made around two weeks earlier than it was. They argued if this had happened treatment would have started sooner and she would have made a “full recovery”.

The trust denied all allegations throughout, but agreed to pay £50,000 last March so she could make adaptations to her kitchen. After being threatened with court action, it offered the seven figure settlement at a meeting of legal teams last month.

The woman said she gets upset and tearful, and her life has “changed completely physically, emotionally and mentally”.

She thanked Hudgells and medical negligence claims specialist Elizabeth Maliakal for their support, saying she now has security for the future. The money will cover the loss of earnings, costs of care, mobility aids and further adaptations to her home. She said: “I am a very strong, stoic and resilient person, but occasionally I do break down and cry, and I can get emotional when I think about how my life has changed. I am no longer able to work, I have lost my mobility and I can no longer take care of myself, my house, or my family. The impact cannot be overstated.”