Medical negligence payout for family following son’s death

The family of a boy who died after going into hospital for a routine kidney operation have been awarded an undisclosed five-figure sum in compensation.

Four-year-old Matthew Kenway was suffered a cardiac arrest whilst in hospital and there was a delay in summoning an emergency team to restart his heart. Matthew suffered from congenital fibre-type disproportion, a form of muscular dystrophy that meant he required a ventilator to breathe and suffered from weak muscles. His breathing had deteriorated slightly and he was taken into hospital to undergo surgery to have a stent inserted to bypass a blockage.

Following a two-day inquest, findings suggested that there were serious shortcomings with the care that Matthew received whilst in hospital.

Matthew’s mother, Katie, told Portsmouth.co.uk: “Nothing can bring Matthew back, but we were determined to highlight what went wrong in the hope that lessons could be learned and that no other family would have to suffer what we have been through.

‘Knowing that changes have now been made in the high-dependency unit gives us some comfort. We will always feel Matthew’s loss but we do now feel as if we can start to move on.”

If you would like further information about medical negligence compensation, please call 0800 107 3000 or click here.