September 9th, 2009
A recycling worker from Wiltshire is in line for a seven-figure compensation payment after a botched neck operation left him severely disabled.
Michael Hart underwent surgery to remove a compressed disc at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford in September 2008, in what should have been a routine procedure.
However, an error by surgeons led to complications which caused irreversible damage to Mr Hart’s spinal cord.
As a result, he is now confined to a wheelchair, with only limited movement in his hands.
Following his release from hospital in April this year, he began a medical negligence claim against Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust, which has now admitted full liability for the mistake made by its staff.
A compensation figure is still to be agreed, but it is almost certain to be more than £1 million, as it will take into account loss of earnings and the cost of long-term care for Mr Hart.
The news comes after the NHS Litigation Authority’s annual report revealed the health service spent £807 million to settle compensation claims in the 2008-09 financial year.
Tags: Compensation Claims, Compensation Payment, Health Service, Hospital Nhs Trust, Irreversible Damage, John Radcliffe Hospital, Litigation, Long Term Care, Loss Of Earnings, Medical Negligence Claim, Michael Hart, Nhs Litigation Authority, Oxford Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford Radcliffe Hospital Nhs Trust, Recycling, Routine Procedure, Spinal Cord, Wheelchair, Wiltshire
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
September 9th, 2009
The family of a former miner have been awarded £85,000 in compensation after he died of a work-related lung disease.
Roy Gamble died of lung cancer at the age of 73 in 2005, 21 years after ending his career in Yorkshire’s coalfields
Doctors said he had developed cancer as a result of silicosis, which prompted him to pursue a compensation claim against his former employer British Coal in 2003, reports the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Mr Gamble asked his daughter Linda to continue the claim after he died and her efforts to secure a settlement have now proved successful.
It was finally accepted that exposure to silica dust in the pits was the root cause of the condition which led to Mr Gamble’s death, resulting in the compensation payout.
News of the settlement comes just days after the widow of an engineering worker from Stalybridge who died from mesothelioma following exposure to asbestos at work received a £60,000 compensation payment.
The Manchester Evening News reported that the case against Frederick Hughes’s former employer Vernon & Roberts was settled four years ago, but that his widow had to take action against the former directors of the company to obtain the money, as both the engineering business and its insurer had gone out of business.
Tags: Amp, British Coal, Compensation Claim, Compensation Payment, Daughter Linda, Insurer, Lung Cancer, Lung Disease, Manchester Evening News, Mesothelioma Asbestos, News Reported That, Pits, Root Cause, Silica Dust, Silicosis, Stalybridge, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Evening Post, Yorkshire Post
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
September 8th, 2009
A cyclist from Preston has been given £2,000 compensation after an accident left him bruised and grazed.
The accident occurred when Antony Di Domenico, 42, was cycling close to Garstang in 2007 and slipped on oil left on the road.
A member of the public who lived close to the site of the accident reported that the oil had been spilled by a farmer, who had attempted to rectify the situation by putting sand on the road instead of reporting the incident to the relevant authorities.
Mr Di Domenico made a compensation claim under the 2003 Untraced Drivers Agreement, as he suffered injuries which took months to heal and stress arising from the accident.
His initial claim was rejected, but he managed to secure a compensation payment after his solicitor helped him to make a successful appeal on the grounds that the driver who spilled the oil had been negligent.
The decision comes just weeks after a 58-year-old cyclist received £5,000 in an out-of-court settlement, after taking legal action against a driver who knocked him off his bike.
Tags: Antony, Compensation Claim, Compensation Payment, Court Settlement, Initial Claim, Relevant Authorities, Secure Payment, Solicitor
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
December 3rd, 2008
A woman has received an out of court settlement from a hospital after having unnecessary surgery due to a misdiagnosis.
Katie Andreou, 28, went to her doctor with concerns about a mole on her leg and was referred to a cancer specialist who removed it, the Daily Mail reports.
When she returned for the results on the mole, she was told it was cancerous and was advised to have six other moles on her body removed as a precaution.
It was only after having the surgery that Ms Andreou received a phone call to tell her that the original mole was not cancerous.
She took Princess Alexandra hospital to court and has now received a compensation payment of £15,000.
"I decided to take my case to court, not for any compensation, but to highlight their incompetence and to save anybody else going through what I’ve been through," Ms Andreou commented.
The hospital said it automatically suggests surgery on potentially cancerous moles as a precaution for the patient.
Clinical negligence occurs when a professional in the health service provides care that is deemed to be below standard and this causes physical injury, death or distress.
Negligence may occur from delay or failure to diagnose a condition, delay or failure to treat a condition, when a treatment goes wrong, use of the wrong treatment, or failure to obtain consent.
Tags: Cancer Specialist, Cancerous Moles, Clinical Negligence, Compensation Payment, Court Settlement, Daily Mail, Failure, Health Service, Incompetence, Injury Death, Mail Reports, Mole, Phone Call, Precaution, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Unnecessary Surgery, Woman
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
