A church missionary who was left semi-paralysed and almost blind by a hospital infection has won the right to millions of pounds in compensation from the NHS.
Rosalind Colwill, 54, was on leave from her good works in Nigeria to attend a family wedding in Oxford when she suffered a medical catastrophe at the City's Churchill Hospital.
Admitted with a suspected case of malaria in September 2002, she developed an infection which developed into septicaemia, pneumonia and, ultimately, acute respiratory distress syndrome.
She suffered brain damage, leaving her partially paralysed, almost blind and with severe mental impairment.
Today, at London's High Court, Mrs Justice Dobbs guaranteed Mrs Colwill a massive damages payout against the "centre of excellence" hospital's managers - Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.
She said that signs of the infection should have been spotted more promptly and, had she been treated with antibiotics one day earlier, she would probably have made a full recovery.
The amount of Mrs Colwill's damages has yet to be finally assessed, but is expected to run into millions of pounds.
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