A boy has won a six-figure sum from Middlesbrough Council after he suffered serious head injuries as a baby when he was tipped from a high chair by a disabled child.
The council admitted it had failed to control the autistic child who tipped over a highchair holding 12-month-old Jack Cooper.
Jack was thrown head first onto the floor while still strapped into the chair at a cafe in Morrisons at Teesside Park in March 2005.
Jack, who turned 11 last week, was left deaf after suffering serious head injuries and will need some level of care and treatment, as well as specialist equipment, for the rest of his life.
Middlesbrough Council was responsible for the management of Beverley School, in Saltersgill Avenue, a school for children with autistic spectrum disorders at which the child was a pupil.
And yesterday at Middlesbrough District Registry Court, at Teesside Combined Court Centre, a judge approved an undisclosed six-figure sum settlement from Middlesbrough Council.
Following the hearing, Jack’s mum, Deborah Patience, 45, said she felt “relieved” the issue had come to a conclusion - ten years on from the incident.
She said: “It has been a struggle and Jack has had to be seen by countless specialists across the country and we had to wait until he was a certain age to understand the impact of the head injury.
This money is for his future care. It will become available to him when he is 18 but he can access it before then if need be.
“No money can change what happen. And he is not the same baby as before. But he is doing OK and is carrying on with his life the best he can. The settlement is a massive relief for us as it means he can get some specialist help with equipment and also some therapies to help him in future.”
Mrs Patience said she still shudders when she thinks of the fateful moment the incident happened.
She said: “I will never forget it. One of the hardest moments was when Jack was seven and I had to tell him what had happened to him. I was advised to do so, and it was one of the hardest things I have had to do. He was asking me so many questions afterwards. He was saying ‘Mummy is that why I can’t hear? It was heartbreaking.”
Jack, a keen Boro fan, is now happily studying at school and enjoys training with football for Ingleby Barwick junior football team TIBS and also enjoys swimming.
Mrs Patience added: “I am very proud of him, he just gets on with everything.
“A lot of people thought I should have just left things and not bothered about getting him his compensation due to the stress and anxiety it has caused, but this is for his future. I want to know that if something happened to me, his care would be paid for.
“I want to thank all of the people who stood by me and supported me with this.”
A spokesman for Middlesbrough Council said: “We are pleased that the matter has
now been brought to a conclusion and would like to wish both the boy and his family. The very best for the future.”
Rebecca Maddock, an expert serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Jack, said: “This was an unusual incident in which Jack suffered very serious and life-changing injuries when he was just a year old.
“The school overseen by the council could have supervised the autistic child better which may have prevented Jack from being tipped from his chair.
“Jack will be likely to need help for the rest of his life and the settlement is based on expert medical evidence about his potential future needs. Hopefully it will give the family peace of mind that he will now receive the help he needs to realise his full potential.”
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