NHS 5-figure payout for boy who lost an eye in blunder

A LITTLE BOY who lost an eye because of a hospital blunder which left cancer undiagnosed for nearly three months received a five-figure damages payout yesterday.

Harvey Dellar 3 who has lost his right eye with his mother Caroline yesterday Harvey Dellar, 3, who has lost his right eye, with his mother Caroline yesterday

The undisclosed settlement, to be put into a trust for three-year-old Harvey Dellar, was approved by a judge at Birmingham County Court.

Harvey’s mother Caroline Haywood, 33, said her son’s eye might have been saved if the tumour, a retinoblastoma, had been diagnosed sooner.

Harvey, of Northampton, was only a year old in February 2008 when his mother noticed that his right eye was turning inwards.

An optician referred him to Northampton General Hospital as an urgent case. But a “basic administration error” meant the letter was filed as a non-urgent referral.

After the brief hearing, in which the hospital admitted full liability, 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.”

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