A woman of 102 is believed to be the oldest person to successfully sue the NHS after being wrongly discharged from Medway Maritime Hospital.

Lydia Eaton was 97 when she fractured her pelvis in a fall at the Wigmore home where she was living at the time.

Her daughter Eliane Griffin, of Walderslade, fought the case on her behalf and this week a High Court judge awarded Mrs Eaton £35,000 compensation.

The damages were claimed from Medway NHS Foundation Trust with lawyers alleging that medics’ failure to properly treat her injuries left her permanently immobile.

Great-great-grandmother Mrs Eaton was a fit and healthy resident of Rogers House in Drewery Drive where she had lived for several years, according to her daughter.

A fall in February 2007 left her unable to walk and in agony and she was taken to the hospital’s A&E department for treatment.

Accompanied by her daughter, Mrs Eaton was sent home eight hours later after being deemed fit for discharge.

In the following months her condition, both physically and mentally, deteriorated, and by April she had to be moved to the specialist Newington Court care home at Newington, near Sittingboure, where she still lives.

Mrs Eaton’s legal team claimed she would have still have been able to walk and get around had she received proper treatment. She would also not have had to be transferred to the Newington.

Mrs Griffin, 72, of Victoria Road, said her mother was in excruciating pain when she left the hospital.

She said: “She was given very strong painkillers which just made her ill and she lost an awful lot of weight. She also developed sores and ulcers.

“At the end of the day I kept asking questions and did not get answers, which made me angry and frustrated. I started writing letters to the NHS and in the end I was advised to take legal advice.

“My mother would not have had to move to another home which cost an awful lot more. We were also never given proper advice on how to look after my mother.”

Mrs Griffin praised staff at both the care homes.

She said: “They have kept her alive and in good spirits against all odds. I did not tell my mother about the legal proceedings because it would have distressed her.

“It’s not about the money. It’s about a legacy for my mother.”
The compensation money will be placed in a trust fund.

Judge Sweeney, sitting in the High Court, approved the payout.