I contracted a superbug after routine back op

John Lynch, 62, said his life was ruined after he was infected following a back operation in 2003, and has since become addicted to morphine.

Mr Lynch, of Toucan Close, Shoebury, has taken 31,000 tablets for pain relief in the past five years because the superbug damaged nerves in his back.

He started legal proceedings against the hospital last year and hoped to win up to £100,000.

His eventual settlement was agreed out of court.

Mr Lynch, who has been unable to work since contracting the infection, said: "They have settled out of court because they don't want to open the floodgates for other people.

"In a way, I am happy with the settlement, but I would have liked to have gone to court to have my say.

"It should have been a straightforward operation and I could have returned to work within six weeks."

But instead, Mr Lynch was left in pain and had to undergo further examinations.

Swelling on his back developed after the operation and he claimed this was drained by a doctor at the hospital in non-sterile conditions.

The wound remained and, after further examination, doctors diagnosed the superbug and another bacteria, ralstonia picketti.

After the back surgery Mr Lynch was crippled with pain and spent six weeks in hospital while doctors tried to get rid of the infection.

He said: "In that time they gave me 80 drips - two a day - to get rid of the bug."

Hospital spokeswoman Pat Stone confirmed the trust had settled out of court.

She said: "The trust strongly denies that Mr Lynch acquired the MRSA pathogen as a result of standards of infection prevention or control at its hospital.

"Two independent expert microbiologists agreed that, even when all necessary infection control procedures are followed, it is still possible for infection to occur.

"It was not possible to demonstrate conclusively in Mr Lynch's case how his infection was acquired, as there were a number of possible sources."