11-year legal battle ends in compensation payout for husband
A grief-stricken husband has won £2.6m damages in a High Court claim on behalf of his wife who was left severely brain-damaged after an anaesthetic accident.
Former city financial analyst Christine Darley-Jones' heart stopped after
she was anaesthetised for a minor investigatory operation on her throat
at private St Anthony's Hospital, Cheam, in March 1994.
After battling for almost 11 years following the incident, carried out
by anaesthetist Dr Stanley Ling, Tony Darley-Jones, 76, has finally won
a payout that will pay for care at a charity care home.
No claim was made against St Anthony's, but Second World War navy veteran
Mr Darley-Jones argued that resuscitation equipment was not made available
quickly enough during the incident.
Although Dr Ling and his lawyers refused to accept liability, at a previous
hearing they agreed to settle 72.5 per cent of the claim and last Thursday
the amount was settled by Mr Justice Pincher.
He praised Mr Darley-Jones' devotion to his totally dependant wife, 56,
formerly a high-flyer at Croydon finance firm BDO Binder Hamlyn and a
Freeman of the City of London.
She is now fed through tubes and completely unable to communicate, with
about three-quarters of her brain irreparably brain-damaged.
Adrian Hopkins QC, for Dr Ling, expressed his client's regret for the
tragedy - but Mr Darley-Jones, emotionally exhausted by the long legal
battle, remained unforgiving.
He told the Advertiser: "I cannot forgive. It would have been better if
we had both died on that fateful day.
"Christine is as good as dead. I am 20 years older than her, suffering
from diabetes and Parkinson's disease and will probably not live for much
longer."
The settlement after a long battle means there is money to provide for
her care at the Home and Hospital for Incurables in Upper Norwood, where
she is now.
Her room has furniture from the couple's home in Wallington, which Mr
Darley-Jones sold to move to a flat nearer his wife.
He added: "Going in every day, trying to talk to her, sing to her, listen
to the incomprehensible noises, where there was once her side of stimulating
conversation, breaks my heart as I remember her as she was - before she
walked into the operating theatre a vivacious, witty woman suffering a
troublesome cough.
"She would not have wanted to live as she is now."
Doctors at the The Royal Hospital for Neurodisability at Putney, where
Christine was later treated, said damage was too severe for any improvement.
Mr Darley-Jones also faced massive legal bills - but has been helped by
solicitor Nick Knowles who agreed to fight the case for him on a no-win,
no-fee basis.
Mr Darley-Jones said: "I am very grateful to him for this and all his
support."
*Where replacement vehicle costs can be recovered from the insurance company of the person who caused the accident.
Where this person is untraceable or uninsured, or where there is a dispute over liability, a replacement vehicle cannot
be provided.
