A 25-year-old Shenley man who was left totally dependent and with the body of a young child after his heart stopped during surgery at a London hospital will go without a penny's compensation after a High Court ruling.

Jamie Buckingham-Smart, of London Road, was born with a congenital heart defect but was a happy five-year-old doing well at school before complications set in and he was operated on at the Brompton Hospital in July 1978.

His heart stopped during the operation in the hospital's cardiac catheter laboratory and oxygen starvation led to the "almost total destruction of his brain", Mr Justice Douglas Brown told the court last week.

He said: "His development and growth were arrested so that he has the appearance of a young child.

"He has virtually no cognitive function and is totally dependent on his devoted parents for every aspect of his life."

In court documents, Jamie is said to weigh just 15 pounds.

The judge described Jamie's parents as "intelligent and articulate" people, but they had nevertheless delayed for 16 years before suing the National Health Service Litigation Authority for alleged negligence by the hospital staff.

The delay had made it almost impossible for those involved in the operation to remember what happened and the judge said he had been unable to surmise a "definitive certain cause" of Jamie's brain damage.

Doctors' lack of memory of the operation was genuine and they were not covering up -- consciously or otherwise -- a guilty secret as to their performance on that day, the judge said.

Jamie's mother and father had for years decided to take no action because they believed they could look after Jamie themselves and a court case would just re-open old wounds. In the end they decided to sue, but the judge dealt them a heavy blow when he dismissed medical negligence claims against hospital staff.

He said he was satisfied all involved in the operation had acted competently adding: "What I can say is that I am wholly unpersuaded that what happened to Jamie was caused by a clinical misjudgment."

Jamie's parents said they wanted to remain positive about the outcome and vowed to appeal against the judge's decision.

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