Father’s £1m award as NHS failings left him ‘virtually paraplegic’

The man, who is not being named, cannot work and uses a walking frame to get about after suffering an abscess on his spine.

His solicitors Neil Hudgell say doctors at Pontefract General Infirmary and Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield failed to diagnose his condition on five visits over 10 days.

There was a further eight-day delay in performing a MRI scan which would have confirmed surgeons needed to operate. His legal team claim he was “virtually paraplegic” by the time he underwent emergency surgery at Leeds General Infirmary.

The agreed financial settlement of £950,000 will fund a specially-adapted home.

The man, who is in his 40s, said: “I can’t believe what has happened to me. I was a fit and healthy man and I used to go to the gym regularly before all this happened, and now I can’t do anything.

“The hardest thing has been the impact on my children. A settlement of £950,000 may sound a lot of money, but I feel that my kids have been robbed of their father, and that makes me very sad and angry.”

Karen Stone, interim medical director at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This was a very complex case and we acknowledge that earlier diagnosis and appropriate treatment could have resulted in a different outcome for this patient.”