Disabled man’s £7m payout ‘to make such a big difference’

The family of a man left seriously disabled more than 30 years ago after a hospital blunder today said a £7 million NHS payout will change their lives.

Ronak Patel was born with severe cerebral palsy after medics failed to diagnose his mother Smita’s appendicitis when she was heavily pregnant. It is claimed the failings of medics from the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust exposed her baby to toxins in the womb, starving him of oxygen.

Mr Patel, 30, is blind, barely able to move and has severe learning difficulties. His mother, a 59-year-old retired civil servant of Pinner, has battled for compensation for the past six years. The case was settled yesterday in the High Court.

Mrs Patel, who lost her husband Jitendra in 2008, said: “Now he will be home with me and we’ll be able to live together with the help of carers. It will make such a big difference to our lives.”

Mr Patel had been living in a residential care home in Horsham, West Sussex, since 2005.