TV actress wins record £5million damages over hospital superbug infection

TV actress Leslie Ash is believed to have been awarded one of the largest health compensation payouts in history after she contracted a debilitating superbug in an NHS hospital.

The 47-year-old actress caught MSSA - a strain of the MRSA infection - four years ago after being admitted to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital following an accident at home.

She was being treated for a punctured lung and two broken ribs when doctors discovered she had contracted the bug from an epidural needle which had come loose.

Miss Ash claimed her career was ruined because she was partially paralysed for months and is still unable to walk properly.

The mother-of-two sued the hospital for negligence and the case was due to be heard at the High Court in April 2008.

But instead the NHS Litigation Authority offered her £5million, plus her £250,000 legal costs, in an out-of-court settlement. The figure is, by some margin, a record for a superbug victim.

The payout directly relates to her loss of earnings and loss of potential future earnings.

The case could set a precedent for thousands of other patients who are struck down by MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections each year. Around 6,400 cases of MRSA were reported in England alone in 2007.

Miss Ash, most famous for her role as Deborah in the 1990s sitcom Men Behaving Badly, said her health is too frail since her illness to endure the demands of TV and film sets and roles have not been forthcoming.
The hospital accepted there was a breach of duty in some aspects of her treatment but denied responsibility for the full extent of her injuries. It demanded proof from work her lawyers of the alleged financial losses that she suffered.
Steve Walker, chief executive of The NHS Litigation Authority, said: 'She is still a young woman at the peak of her career. In all of these high-value cases, the highest percentage of the damages will be loss of earnings.'