Brain-damaged man awarded damages

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 3rd Apr 2008

The family of a 20-year-old man has won a multi-million pound compensation payout for mistakes made during his birth which left him severely disabled. Wheelchair-bound Andrew Dixon, of Grangetown in Middlesbrough, has had cerebral palsy since he was born at Sunderland Hospital in 1987.

The North East Strategic Health Authority, responsible for the hospital, paid tribute to the Dixon's. The family do not want the exact compensation figure to be revealed. The hearing at Newcastle Crown Court heard how Mr Dixon's mother Linda was given drugs during her labour when her baby's heart rate became dangerously low.

But the drugs administered to speed up the labour made the situation worse, the hearing heard.

Mr Dixon's father Derek said: "We hope this will make a huge difference to the quality of Andrew's life. He will be 21 in August and, like anyone of that age, he does not want to be around his parents all the time. It will benefit him a lot to be able to have his own space and become far more independent."

The family will now be able to afford professional 24-hour care for Mr Dixon, as well as specialist equipment and a more advanced electric wheelchair. Angela Curran, trauma specialist for law firm Irwin Mitchell which represented the family, said: "The Dixon family will not be sitting on a pot of gold. No amount of money can compensate for what Andrew has lost and what the family has been through."

A spokeswoman for the North East Strategic Health Authority said: "We would like to pay tribute to the dedication, loving and devoted care that Andrew's family have provided and also to wish Andrew and his family well for the future."