Matthew awarded €3.7m for injuries

A 12-year-old boy who was left paralysed after hospital treatment for meningitis has settled his action against the HSE with an interim payout of €3.7m.

To describe Matthew McGrath’s injuries as catastrophic is an understatement, his counsel told the High Court yesterday. The boy is completely paralysed and cannot move his arms or legs and can only breathe through a ventilator.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross was told that Matthew was admitted to Wexford General Hospital with an infection when he was 17 months old and, if he had been treated with antibiotics and fluids when his condition deteriorated, he would have been spared the devastating injuries he suffered.