Tottenham youngster,Radwan Hamed who was left severely brain damaged in 2006 after collapsing wins £7m in damages for club doctors' decision to let him play with known heart problem

A former Tottenham Hotspur player left severely brain damaged after the club breached its duties to him has won a damages claim of around £7m.

Despite scans showing that his heart was ‘unequivocally abnormal’ Radwan Hamed was allowed to continue playing football.

The player, then aged 17, collapsed during his first game as a professional for Spurs in Belgium in August 2006

A High Court judge had previously ruled Tottenham breached its duties to Radwan and this morning damages believed to be in the region of £7m were ordered to be paid after a 10-year court battle.

Hamed, a gifted striker, was screened by Dr Peter Mills, the Football Association’s regional cardiologist for South East England when he signed a professional contract.

However, despite abnormalities showing on the scan, the teenager was allowed to continue playing and subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest in his first game.

Hamed’s father, Raymond, claimed his catastrophic injuries resulted from the negligence of Dr Mills and Dr Charlotte Cowie and Dr Mark Curtin, specialist sports physicians employed by Spurs.

Dr Cowie has since gone on to become medical director for the FA in a controversial appointment first revealed by Sportsmail in April.

At an earlier hearing Mr Justice Hickinbottom ruled the club was 70 per cent liable with Dr Mills 30 per cent liable.

Spurs will not be hit with a fee directly as their 70 per cent portion was incurred by sports physicians they previously employed, who have agreed to indemnify the club.

After granting a compensation order for an undisclosed figure understood to be around £7m, Mr Justice Lewis said: ‘Radwan Hamed was a promising young footballer. At the age of 17 he was playing his first professional match for Tottenham Hotspur.

'Sadly, Radwan suffered from a heart defect and tragically suffered heart attack on the pitch. His heart stopped for many minutes and his brain was starved of oxygen. Thankfully, Radwan survived but he suffered serious injuries.

‘There is a system for scanning and screening heart defects in young footballers. Radwan was scanned and the results indicated he might have a heart defect. An earlier hearing found insufficient communication between doctors who carried out the scan and doctors at Tottenham Hotspur.

Source; Dailymail

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