District Limburg-Weilburg
One million euros compensation for brain damage in toddler after antibiotic infusion
With regard to the amount of the compensation, the Limburg Regional Court was guided by the fatal consequences for the one-year-old
© Fredrik Von Erichsen / Picture Alliance
A one – year-old child choked on an apple he had previously eaten during an infusion-from excitement. The District Court of Limburg now rendered its verdict in the case.
After a serious incident in the hospital, the District Court of Limburg awarded a child a total of one million euros in damages. This was announced by the court on Monday. A civil court therefore considered it to be proven that the then one-year-old boy had cried and screamed so much when given an antibiotic that he swallowed a previously eaten piece of apple. As a result, he suffered severe brain damage in the incident in 2011.
“Faulty” rescue measures
According to the communication, the Board based the amount of the compensation on the fatal consequences: the boy would never lead “even an approximately normal life”. He had demanded a compensation of at least 500,000 euros. According to the court, the hospital in question in the district of Limburg-Weilburg, a nurse and a attending physician were sentenced to pay the sum plus interest.
The case occurred in December 2011. The child had come to the clinic because of an infection. The one-year-old was supposed to get the medicine via a vein access. The nurse had known that the child had eaten shortly before, the court ruled. She should have expected that the boy would be upset about the drug administration and therefore have to wait longer to prevent possible swallowing of food residues. The rescue measures then initiated were also “faulty and even harmful in the form carried out”.
Limburg judgment not yet final
The court in Hesse listed the serious consequences for the plaintiff and his family: he could not speak and walk. He was largely denied a normal childhood. “He is not allowed to play with his parents, siblings or other children, attend a kindergarten or a normal school, or establish regular social relationships with his peers.”He was dependent on outside help around the clock.
The court also ruled that the plaintiff must be compensated for” all future unforeseeable intangible and all past and future material damages that he has suffered or will suffer as a result of incorrect treatment”. The judgment is not yet final.
