A woman left severely brain damaged by a hospital blunder has condemned what happened to her.

Frances Bowra, of The Mallows, Maidstone, is in line for a huge compensation payout after a High Court claim against Maidstone Hospital was settled in her favour.

The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, which runs Maidstone Hospital, agreed to compromise on the basis that it was 75 per cent liable for her injuries.

Barrister Michael Spencer QC, for Mrs Bowra, told the court she was admitted to the hospital suffering from water on the brain in April 2003 and, because of a delay in transferring her to a specialist hospital in London, she suffered devastating neurological injuries.

As a result of what happened, she requires constant care from her husband, Kenneth, who was in court to hear Judge Sir Robert Nelson approve the liability settlement.

Outside court, lawyers for the 46-year-old read a brief statement which they said Mrs Bowra - who was in hospital for nine months - had dictated as she battles against her disabilities.

The statement said: “Clearly the clinical pathways which should have been in place were not, and they needed to be, not only for myself but for others to prevent such a tragedy from reccurring.

“This needs to be addressed by all our NHS trusts, which is why this case proceeded to ensure this may happen.”

Mrs Bowra’s legal team will now set about securing her a substantial compensation payout, either by negotiation or returning to court. Her care needs are so great that she is now in line for multimillion-pound damages.

Earlier, Mr Spencer told the court that he believed that the delay had caused 95 per cent of the damage to Mrs Bowra, but the NHS Trust insisted that no more than 35 per cent of the injury was due to delay.

After giving the settlement on liability his blessing, Sir Robert said: “I hope the resolution of the issue of liability will provide some comfort to Mr Bowra, who has taken very considerable steps to care for his wife.”