Mark Thomas has been awarded 3.2 million pounds compensation

A man who was left severely brain damaged after doctors failed to diagnose he was suffering from meningitis for five days has been awarded £3.2 million in compensation.

Mark Thomas, 20, is unable to work or live independently as a result of the brain injury sustained in 2002, when he was 12 years old.

At a hearing at the High Court in Birmingham, Mr Thomas, from Blakenhall, Walsall, was awarded the sum to help fund a lifetime of future care.

Doctors at Walsall Manor Hospital in the West Midlands did not link his symptoms to the potentially fatal illness and the results of a blood test taken when he attended the Accident and Emergency department were not reviewed for five days. His brain damage has severely affected his short term memory and his parents say he would be a "danger to himself" if left alone.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell, which represents Mr Thomas, said he first attended Walsall Manor hospital on February 9 2002 following a series of ear infections. He complained of a stiff neck, an aversion to bright lights and extreme lethargy, the firm said. A blood test was taken but the results - which showed Mr Thomas to be suffering from a meningeal infection of the brain - were not reviewed and he was sent home.

A spokesman for Irwin Mitchell said: "These symptoms, together with the blood test results, if they had been reviewed, should have rung alarm bells with doctors. However, rather than admitting Mark into hospital, he was instead sent home and the blood test was not acted upon for five days."

On February 14 Mr Thomas's parents took him back to the hospital where they were told by a nurse that his condition was not sufficiently serious and they were "using emergency A&E services inappropriately". When the couple demanded a second opinion the blood test results were analysed and meningitis was diagnosed. The family has received an apology from the hospital, which admitted liability in 2007.

Mr Thomas's father David said: "We are relieved that this settlement will allow Mark to be cared for in the way he needs, for the rest of his life. He is our only child and we really couldn't ask for a more wonderful son."

He said his son was a keen football fan and held a season ticket for Walsall FC, but added: "His short term memory is so severe that within minutes of the game ending, he cannot even remember the final score. There are so many things that he cannot do which other lads his age take for granted. We cannot even leave him alone in the house because he would be too much of a danger to himself."

His mother, Elaine, said: "The past eight years have been such a roller coaster of emotions for us. We know just how close we came to losing Mark to this terrible illness and we are fortunate he is still with us. However, if the doctors had done their job properly and acted more quickly, Mark would now be living a completely normal life. It is so upsetting to think that all the plans and ambitions he had as a young lad will now never be realised."