Former world's fattest man to sue the NHS

[dbgtz]

A man who once weighed nearly 70 stone is to launch legal action against the NHS, claiming they failed to help him as his size soared.

Former postman Paul Mason received life-saving gastric surgery last year binge-eating his way to gargantuan size.

But the 50-year-old, who now weighs in at a comparatively small 37 stone, said he should have been helped years ago.


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Fattest man: Paul Mason received a vital operation after ballooning to nearly 70 stone but plans to sue the NHS for ignoring his pleas for help

Mr Mason, who was eating 20,000 calories a day at his heaviest, claims he sought help from his GP after ballooning to 30 stone.

Instead of receiving a treatment programme to manage his weight, he has complained he was told in 1996: 'Ride your bike more.'

He also says he was sent to a dietician, rather than the eating disorders specialist he had asked to see, after his weight hit 64 stone.

'I want to set a precedent so no one else has to get to the same size - and to put something back into society,' Mr Mason told The Sun.

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Binging: Paul Mason was eating 20,000 calories a day at his heaviest

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Life-saving op: Paul Mason is lifted into place ahead of the surgery that helped him lose 20 stone in a year

He has pledged to put any compensation he receives if successful towards helping other obese people lose weight.

An NHS spokesman said of the purported lawsuit: 'As we have not heard from Mr Mason, it would be inappropriate to speculate.'

Mr Mason's care bill costs taxpayers an estimated £100,000 a year and is believed to have topped £1million over the past 15 years.

At the height of his binge eating, he was consuming 20,000 calories every day - ten times the recommended daily intake for a man.


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Increased mobility: Paul Mason now uses a motorised wheelchair to get around after surgery helped him shed 20 stone

Though he has vowed to help other people in need of weight loss operations, the cost of Mr Mason's condition will have enraged patients on NHS waiting lists, commentators said this week.

'It’s such a shame that so much time and resources have to go to help one person, these nurses will be sorely missed at a time when public finances are squeezed,' said Charlotte Linacre, Campaign Manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

'Although there is sympathy for people struggling with health issues, taxpayers will not feel this is a fair allocation of funds as they sit on waiting lists while footing the bill for his personal care.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344930/Former-worlds-fattest-man-Paul-Mason-sue-NHS-weight-gain.html

Nice to know how much he thinks of others, when in the end he's suing them for his own doing. If he wins I would literally be screaming, considering debt and whatnot and, on a more personal scale, how I cannot get my operation from funding issues.

[AgnesIO]

I don't care what he puts his money towards.

It is HIS fault he got to 70 stone, he shouldn't have been given ANYTHING. Perhaps, the government sues HIM for wasting our money.

[ka191]

How can you even eat so much?

[-:Undertaker:-]

Whatever happened to a common sense concept known as personal responsibility?

I'm just looking forward to the comments from the bleeding-heart liberals telling us all that it isn't really his fault he's like this.

[Misawa]

It's wrong of him to sue but obesity is far more than just greed. It's a condition. They just can't stop eating.

[Nemo]

I swear this program about him was on recently. And he got his operation in the end and is able to atleast walk about now. Looks like the dailymail are a tad slow on this one

[Catzsy]

Whatever happened to a common sense concept known as personal responsibility?

I'm just looking forward to the comments from the bleeding-heart liberals telling us all that it isn't really his fault he's like this.

Bleeding heart liberals or markists? We get used to these totally inaccurate jibes without responding back. Don't know how he got to that size but yes he should take some personal responsibilty. He has received a great deal of help to get down to his present weight so I do think the has a real cheek to sue them.

[AgnesIO]

It's wrong of him to sue but obesity is far more than just greed. It's a condition. They just can't stop eating.

But if you get obese a lot of the time it is just because you are a lazy **** who needs to do some exercise and have smaller portions.

[Nationalism]

Another worthless slob who means nothing to the state.
He should be ashamed of himself that he let himself get to that state in the first place, you can blame nothing but personal responsibility - to blame the NHS is absolutely ridiculous.
His claim will probably be processed and he will still probably win due to our politically correct garbage.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Bleeding heart liberals or markists? We get used to these totally inaccurate jibes without responding back. Don't know how he got to that size but yes he should take some personal responsibilty. He has received a great deal of help to get down to his present weight so I do think the has a real cheek to sue them.

The bleeding heart liberals (the saying refers to modern liberalism which is not liberal, not classic liberalism which I belong to) who believe that everything with stories such as this are the fault of somebody or something else rather than the person themselves - take criminality or example, in recent years we've taken (when I say we I mean the political class) to treat them both as some sort of disease where the people need help, rather than treat them for what they are - wrongdoing which deserves and often requires punishment.

The bleeding heart liberal stance on this story would be 'he needs help, its not his fault'.

[Chris]

He should have been helped before but I dont see what sueing them now is going to change for him. It's his own fault in the end, no one elses.