In August 2009 *Katherine* underwent a planned surgical procedure at her local hospital in the South East of England. She was discharged home the following day.

Five days after the procedure Katherine felt very unwell, she struggled to get out of bed and felt hot and nauseous, she then vomited on several occasions during the course of the day.

The following day she telephoned her GP regarding her symptoms and was told to contact her surgeon, which she did. She was told that she would need to go back to the hospital but that she would need to contact the ward first, however, when she contacted the ward she was told not to go to hospital but to contact her GP instead.

Katherine contacted her GP and arranged an appointment for the following evening as this was the first available appointment. On examination by her GP Katherine was admitted straight to hospital.

On her admission to hospital Katherine was given antibiotics to take and an urgent CT scan was requested, however this was not performed until the following morning.

Following the CT scan Katherine was diagnosed with suffering an infection from surgery and underwent further surgery to treat the infection. This involved opening out her previous wound and washing out the site.

Katherine found the treatment very painful and distressing and was left with a seven inch scar across her abdomen.

In September 2009 Katherine contacted Alex McKnight, a specialist in clinical negligence at Pryers Solicitors. Investigations were commenced and expert evidence was sought. Unfortunately the expert evidence was that, although there had been a delay in diagnosing the infection, this had not caused Katherine to suffer a worse outcome than she would have done had the infection been found straight away.

Allegations were put to the Defendant who replied admitting that they should have diagnosed the infection sooner but denying any effect. They made an offer to settle the case for £1,000. Negotiations commenced and the case was settled in March 2011 for £6,500.

The Defendant also paid all of Katherine’s costs and legal fees so she kept 100% of her compensation and did not have any costs to pay during her case.