Woman secured £800k after detox left her brain damaged

A woman who was left with brain damage after undergoing a detox programme has been awarded a payout of over £800,000.

Dawn Page was told to drink four extra pints of water per day and reduce the amount of salt she consumed as part of a radical diet.

Within days of the regime, she began to vomit and, after less than a week, the 52-year-old suffered a major epileptic fit which left her with brain damage.

Doctors diagnosed her as having hyponatraemia, which occurs when the sodium concentration in the blood falls below a certain level.

The seizure has affected her speech, memory and concentration and meant she had to give up her role as an conference organiser.

Her nutritionist, Barbara Nash, denied any liability in the case and the high court ratified the settlement.

Her husband Geoff said: "Her life has been seriously affected, perhaps ruined, by this fad-type way of losing weight, which I can only say is a dangerous method of weight loss."

24/07/2008 16:06