Damages for boy who lost eye to tumour after diagnosis delay

The parents of a boy whose right eye had to be surgically removed after a near three-month delay in diagnosing his cancer have received a settlement in damages.

The undisclosed five-figure sum, which will be put into a trust to meet the future needs of three-year-old Harvey Dellar, was approved by a judge at Birmingham County Court.

In a statement after a brief hearing, Harvey's mother, Caroline Haywood, said she believed her son may not have lost his eye if he had been diagnosed sooner. Harvey, from Northampton, was just 12 months old when his parents noticed in February 2008 that his right eye was turning inwards.

The family, which was represented by medical law firm Irwin Mitchell, then took the boy to an optician, who immediately referred him to Northampton General Hospital.

But a "basic administration error" meant that by the time Harvey was offered an appointment by the hospital, his cancer had spread so far that surgeons had no choice but to remove the affected eye.

Solicitor Tim Deeming, of Irwin Mitchell, said: "Caroline's decision to pursue legal action was taken not only to protect the interests of her son, but also to gain answers as to how such a fundamental error could have happened, in an attempt to safeguard other families from suffering the same fate.

"There was clearly a need to urgently investigate further and the hospital has accepted that in normal circumstances, Harvey should have been seen within two weeks of being referred.

"Sadly, the delay of almost three months in calling him for an appointment had catastrophic consequences."

Speaking after the hearing, Ms Haywood said: "My son may not have lost his eye if he had been treated and diagnosed more quickly following the optician's concerns. Although the cancer would probably have meant his sight would have been affected, they could have saved the eye."

Ms Haywood also warned other parents to seek urgent medical assistance if they noticed similar irregularities to those which she saw on photographs of her son.

Ms Haywood, 33, explained: "Looking back at photos of Harvey taken at the time, we've noticed that when we took pictures of him using a flash, 'red eye' only shows on his good eye.

"His right pupil is white – which we've since found out is a telltale sign that there is something wrong with the retina and needs urgent investigation."

Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust said it was pleased the settlement was approved.