An epileptic prisoner who fell out of bed while in custody at London’s Brixton Prison has won £4.7 million in damages from the Home Office after he sustained devastating brain damage in the fall.

The Daily Mail reports that in November 1997, known epileptic  29-year-old Ryan St George was serving a four-month sentence for theft when he fell from his top bunk in a dormitory and hit his head on the floor. Mr St George suffered a ‘massive’ epileptic fit, which lasted for an hour-and-three-quarters.

Half-an-hour into the fit, prison officers called an ambulance, but it was delayed at the gate by a van parked there. Prison staff also wasted time discussing who should accompany Mr St George to hospital.

In 2007, the High Court ruled that Mr St George – now aged 42 – might have had a better outcome had he received oxygen earlier. He has been left severely brain damaged, requires permanent, round-the-clock care and is virtually unable to do anything for himself.

Mr St George lives with his 77-year-old aunt, who cares for him – and took action against the Home Office through his father David St George.

In the first settlement of its kind, the Home Office will pay the £45,000 rent on a new flat in Camden, north London, where Mr St George will live with his aunt. The arrangement will allow him and his aunt to remain living in the borough, where he has become known to local residents. Camden is one of the most expensive boroughs in London to live in.

At the earlier High Court hearing, the court had heard that the state Mr St George was in by the time paramedics arrived at the prison was as close to being dead as a person could be ‘without being dead'.

In 2007, he won the right to massive damages, after High Court judge Mr Justice Mackay ruled that the 'incompetence' of the prison authorities had led to his injuries. In 2008, Appeal Court judges rejected Home Office claims that Mr St George's addiction to alcohol and benzodiazepine might have contributed to his injuries.

The Appeal Court found the Home Office ‘100 per cent liable’ for Mr St George's injuries – and said it was 'foreseeable' by the prison authorities that he might suffer a withdrawal fit and thus it would not be 'just and equitable' to reduce his compensation as a result of his addictions. Mr Justice Mackay said the actions of prison staff amounted to ‘culpable delay’ – and added that 'Mr St George was an accident waiting to happen’.

After 13 years, the Home Office agreed to a £4.7million settlement of his case, in what is believed to be the first deal of its kind ever struck in court. Mr St George’s legal representative said after the ruling:

'The case is thought to be groundbreaking in that it is believed to be [the first] where annual periodical payments have been used to pay rent.

'This has many advantages, as it means Ryan can rent near his devoted family and will continue to receive the rental payments for life.’

A total of £100,000 of the £4.7m settlement will be paid to Mr St George’s father and aunt in recognition of the care they have given him.

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