October 29th, 2009
A man who suffered brain injuries after he fell 20 feet into a supermarket car park is seeking compensation from Plymouth City Council.
Jonathan Harvey was a physiotherapy student and a keen sportsman in 2003 when he went on a night out with friends, the Plymouth Herald reports.
However, after getting out of a taxi, Mr Harvey allegedly tripped over a fence and plunged 20 feet onto concrete.
He was in hospital for eight months and still finds it difficult to walk and talk because of his brain injury.
The victim has taken legal action against Plymouth City Council for failing to ensure its land was safe for visitors under the Occupiers’ Liability Act.
A spokesperson for the council denied liability, insisting that Mr Harvey was to blame for the accident.
Anyone who suffers a personal injury should seek legal advice within three years of the incident in order to be able to claim compensation.
Tags: Brain Injuries, Brain Injury, Car Park, Concrete, Eight Months, Fence, Friends, Jonathan, Jonathan Harvey, Keen Sportsman, Legal Advice, Mr Harvey, Occupiers Liability Act, personal injury, Plymouth City Council, Spokesperson, Supermarket, Taxi
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
October 26th, 2009
A paperboy who suffered a brain injury after being hit by a lorry has been told he is entitled to compensation.
Joshua Smith had applied for the position at the Co-op in Staffordshire just after his 13th birthday in 2005, the Staffordshire Sentinel reports.
However, days after beginning the job, he was hit by a vehicle being driven by Mark Hammond.
The victim suffered a fractured pelvis, an open head wound, a ruptured kidney, bruised lungs, cuts and bruises and a brain injury.
He now has short-term memory problems and is likely to need care later in life.
This week, a judge deemed that Mr Hammond was partly responsible for the accident as his brakes were faulty.
The amount of compensation Joshua will be entitled to is to be decided at a later date.
According to the Department for Transport, there were 28,572 people killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads in 2008.
Tags: 13th Birthday, Brain Injury, Brakes, Cuts And Bruises, Fractured Pelvis, Job, Joshua Smith, Kidney, Lorry, Lungs, Mark Hammond, Mr Hammond, Paperboy, Short Term Memory, Short Term Memory Problems, Staffordshire Sentinel
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October 14th, 2009
An NHS trust has been ordered to pay out £7.1 million in compensation to a boy who was left brain damaged due to errors surrounding his birth.
Harry Snowdon, now ten, was starved of oxygen after his delivery was delayed for four hours at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital in 1999.
His mother Debra had been given too much of a drug that causes labour and the baby was in distress in the birth canal, but a lack of monitoring led to the devastating errors and Harry was born with brain damage.
He now has no sense of danger and has violent mood swings, meaning that he will never be able to live independently.
This week, Mr Justice Holroyde ruled that the "negligence of the defendants’ medical and nursing staff in the management of his birth" led to his disabilities.
Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust admitted liability and has now agreed to a £7.1 million compensation payout.
"We are relieved the settlement has eventually been agreed and we will not have to worry about what will happen to him when we are no longer around," said Ms Snowdon.
According to the Centre for Neuro Skills, over 1,000 children die or suffer permanent brain injury every year in the UK because of shortage of oxygen around the time of birth.
Tags: 1 Million, 1m, Birth Canal, Brain Damage, Brain Injury, Disabilities, John Radcliffe Hospital, Labour, Left Brain, Mr Justice, Negligence, Neuro Skills, Nhs Trust, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals, Oxygen, Sense Of Danger, Snowdon, Time Of Birth, Violent Mood Swings
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
August 21st, 2009
A family is considering taking legal action against South Yorkshire Police after it took officers five hours to find the victim of a car crash.
Gary Shore, 21, lost control of his car in Rotherham on November 3rd last year and a bus driver saw it overturned in trees at 09:20 GMT.
However, despite sending a community support officer along the same road, Mr Shore was not found until his car was again reported to police via a 999 call at 14:45 GMT.
The victim had suffered a brain injury and is now paralysed.
A report from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) identified a number of failings by South Yorkshire Police and the organisation ordered the force to make improvements.
"Whilst Mr Shore’s vehicle was not readily visible from the road, more could have been done to locate it at the time of the first report made to the police," admitted a police spokesperson.
Mr Shore’s family is now considering making a claim for compensation.
The IPCC was established in 2004 to ensure that complaints against police are dealt with effectively.
Tags: Brain Injury, Bus Driver, Car Crash, Complaints Against Police, Gmt, Improvements, Independent Police Complaints Commission, Ipcc, Police Complaints, Police Officers, Police Spokesperson, Rotherham, South Yorkshire Police, Trees, Yorkshire
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August 19th, 2009
The rate of clinical errors in Cumbria’s two hospitals is among the highest in the country, it has been revealed.
Statistics released this week have shown that £5.3 million was paid out to the victims of clinical negligence by North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in 2008-09, the News and Star reports.
One woman who said she is not surprised by the news is Charlene Steel, whose baby suffered a brain injury because of errors at his birth at Cumberland Infirmary. She said she would travel elsewhere if she needed to use hospital services again.
This comes after figures for the UK as a whole showed that clinical negligence payouts reached £807 million last year, up by 22 per cent on the figure from 2007-08.
There were 8,885 claims brought against NHS trusts for medical blunders, it was found.
Anyone affected by errors during their hospital treatment should seek the advice of a solicitor specialising in clinical negligence claims.
Tags: Acute Hospitals Nhs Trust, Blunder, Brain Injury, Charlene, Clinical Negligence Claims, Cumberland, Cumberland Infirmary, Hospitals Nhs Trust, Hospitals Uk, Medical Blunders, Nhs Trusts, North Cumbria Acute Hospitals, Solicitor Specialising, Star Reports, Statistics
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
