Legal aid for overdose baby

A couple who are planning legal action against a hospital after their baby was given an overdose of morphine have been granted legal aid.

Kieren Luscombe was six weeks old when he was given 10 times the correct dose of the pain-killer during a hernia operation at Treliske hospital, Cornwall, because his prescription had been misread. He turned blue and had fits.

A brain scan revealed no abnormalities, but the family's solicitor, Philip Snell, said yesterday that it would not be known for several years whether there was any long-term brain damage.

A medical report will also be prepared on Kieren's mother Julie, who lives near Redruth. She was at the hospital and suffered psychological trauma.