THE parents of children killed or injured by nurse Beverley Allitt have accepted a compensation package believed to total £500,000, her former employers announced yesterday.
Allitt, who was 24 at the time, murdered four children and attacked another nine while she worked as a nurse on Ward 4 at Grantham and Kesteven General Hospital, Lincolnshire, in the spring of 1991.
In May 1993 she was given 13 life terms for her crimes at Nottingham Crown Court.
The offer, from Lincolnshire Health Authority, was put to the parents in August this year.
Yesterday the authority admitted that all the parents involved had suffered post traumatic stress disorder and become ill.
Mr Kevin Holder, of Lincolnshire Health, said in a statement:
"We recognise that no amount of money will remove the anguish and stress suffered by the families, but these settlements will at least negate the need to relive the events during legal proceedings."
The families of each of the 13 children killed or injured brought claims for compensation against the health authority.
Since the end of the trial some payments' were made under ex gratia scheme for the victims but yesterday's settlement for the parents is separate, the authority said. Some families also brought compensation claims for post traumatic stress disorder.
The authority, yesterday accepting all parents had suffered the illness, said a strict interpretation of the law would have meant some parents receiving compensation and others not.
An ex gratia payment was offered in August if all the families agreed to drop their claims. They were then given a fortnight to accept. Further negotiations brought yesterday's announcement.
The settlement will benefit 21 of the 24 parents involved. It is to be shared only by those who suffered post traumatic stress disorder after the attacks. The money has been divided depending on medical evidence of their suffering. Their solicitor, Mr Paul Balen, greeted the move as a "ground breaking settlement".