Police thought brain-damaged accident victim was drunk

Dean Hutton will need constant care due to brain damage after he was attacked with a scaffolding pole by two brothers in 2009.

Following the incident, Mr Hutton, who refused to attend hospital, was arrested in relation to a failure to attend court and was taken into custody. Eleven hours later he was taken from custody to hospital after his health deteriorated.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigated the case and has made several recommendations to South Yorkshire Police.

Meanwhile, the family of the victim have spoken of their anger. Roy Hutton, Dean's father, said: "Before his brain injury, Dean was completely independent but now needs our help with almost everything he does. We are angry that Dean's injury was not spotted by police officers sooner, and hope that the changes recommended by the IPCC are taken on board so that nothing like this ever happens again."

Stacy Gee, a solicitor and brain injury specialist at Irwin Mitchell, said: "Although Mr Hutton was assessed by a paramedic at the scene of the assault, the station's custody sergeant failed to take on board advice that he had suffered a head injury and did not seek further medical help when Mr Hutton's condition deteriorated, wrongly assuming he was drunk.

"It was only 11 hours later, when he was struggling to breathe and had blood around his mouth that officers acted, rushing him to Rotherham District General hospital.

"He was immediately transferred to Royal Hallamshire Hospital where he underwent an emergency craniotomy but, despite receiving treatment at Oakwood Centre for Rehabilitation Medicine in Rotherham until March 2010, he still suffers from ongoing physical, cognitive and behavioural difficulties."

The IPCC investigation concluded that the failure to record the details of the head injury when Mr Hutton entered custody meant the seriousness of his injuries were not recognised and the fact Mr Hutton vomited at 12:30am and was difficult to rouse later may have been seen as indicators of serious illness rather than drunkenness, the IPCC said.

The IPCC made five recommendations in relation to their findings, three at a local level and two nationally. On a local level, South Yorkshire Police custody staff should receive refresher training in relation to risk assessments. While on a national level, the handover between custody staff should be formal, structured and documented.