BREAST BUTCHER VICTIMS’ PAYDAY
Judge gives go-ahead for £50k each
A JUDGE yesterday approved a £37million settlement for hundreds of victims of disgraced Scots breast surgeon Ian Paterson.
Mrs Justice Whipple expressed her “heartfelt “sympathy to those whose she said were “betrayed” by Paterson – who is now serving 20 years in jail.
The judge said the “physical pain and mental anguish” his patients suffered “cannot be understated”.
She added: “I pay tribute to their resilience in the face of such adversity.”
The ruling at the High Court in London yesterday formally ended damages claims which were due to go to trial next month.
About 750 private patients put through unnecessary surgery by Paterson will get payouts from the £37million compensation pot – working out at about £50,000 each. Spire Healthcare, who employed Glasgow-born Paterson, 59, at private hospitals in the Midlands, will contribute £27.2million.
A further £10million is to be provided by Paterson’s insurers and his former NHS employers, the Heart of England Trust.
In May, Paterson was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding against 10 private patients – nine women and one man.
He was originally sentenced to 15 years in May but that was raised to 20 years by Court of Appeal judges last month.
Rachel Butler, one of Paterson’s victims, said yesterday: “It is a relief that we will now receive some form of compensation for the hell we’ve been through.
“We now need to see a complete change in the private healthcare sector to make sure no one ever has to wait this long for justice again.”
Paterson’s victims also included many NHS patients. The NHS have so far paid more than £17million in compensation in relation to those claims.