May 20th, 2011
In one of the most critical articles yet written, an investigator at the British Medical Journal has recently told the story of the DePuy ASR prosthetic hip: how it came onto the market; what testing was carried out; and how DePuy responded to complaints from surgeons.
Dr Deborah Cohen, working alongside Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, spoke to those involved in the UK, Australia and the USA and asks how it can be that such safety-critical products can be sold and fitted to patients without the sort of rigorous testing and independent clinical trials to which drugs are subjected? As well as looking at DePuy’s actions, she also considers the role played by the UK’s regulatory body, the MHRA.
The article is well worth reading for anyone interested in the failure of the ASR hip and other metal-on-metal prosthetic hips.
The full text can be found here: – http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d2905.full.
Pryers Solicitors LLP is a specialist medical law firm and acts for over 100 people, throughout the UK, who have suffered the failure of their ASR hip. Product liability claims are being brought against DePuy International Ltd.
Anyone who has suffered from the failure of their ASR joint is encouraged to contact Pryers’ Hip Product Liability Team on 01904 556600 or by email at hips@pryers-solicitors.co.uk.
Tags: Acts, British Medical Journal, Channel 4, Clinical Trials, Contact Team, Critical Articles, Critical Products, Deborah Cohen, Depuy International Ltd, Dispatches, Drugs, Email, Failure, Hips, Medical Law, Mhra, Product Liability Claims, Regulatory Body, Solicitors, Worth Reading
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November 12th, 2009
A prisoner has been awarded £1,400 in compensation after he was bitten by a prison officer during a brawl.
David Hay was being moved to a new prison but had refused to leave Perth jail in Scotland without his quilt and in the ensuing argument was pinned to the floor and bitten in the back.
As a result of the incident, which left Hay with a bitemark for a fortnight, the Scottish Prison Service was ordered to pay the compensation on behalf of prison officer Kenny Kinnear, who carried out the act.
Hay, who served a seven-year term for culpable homicide, was cleared of a breach of the peace after he was accused of threatening Kinnear in the street after his eventual release from jail.
Earlier this week, a man who suffered a stroke after developing a drugs habit in jail was awarded compensation.
Ellis Sherwood had been wrongly convicted of murder and was awarded £1.4 million for what happened to him following the quashing of his conviction.
Tags: Breach Of The Peace, Convict, Conviction, Culpable Homicide, David Hay, Drugs, Eventual Release, Fortnight, Habit, Kinnear, Perth, Prison Officer, Scotland, Scottish Prison Service, Sherwood, Stroke, Wins
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October 12th, 2009
A soldier who served in Iraq has died after receiving the lungs of a smoker which had a cancerous tumour inside.
Corporal Matthew Millington, 31, developed an incurable lung condition in 2005 and was told he would need a lung transplant in order to survive.
He had the operation at Cambridge’s Papworth Hospital in April 2007, but was not able to breathe as easily as he was told he should.
Almost a year later, it was found that one of the lungs – which had come from someone who smoked up to 50 roll-ups a day – had a cancerous tumour. Despite undergoing cancer treatment, Corporal Millington died in February 2008.
The hospital admitted that use of immuno-supressant drugs after the transplant accelerated the cancer’s growth, but insisted that such incidents are rare.
Although Corporal Millington’s family is not seeking compensation from the hospital, anyone who feels they have not received adequate treatment should seek the advice of a solicitor in order to pursue a clinical negligence claim.
Tags: Adequate Treatment, Cambridge Hospital, Cancer Treatment, Cancerous Tumour, Clinical Negligence, Corporal, Drugs, Iraq, Lung Condition, Lung Transplant, Lungs Of A Smoker, Negligence Claim, Papworth Hospital, Roll Ups, Smoker S Lungs, Soldier, Solicitor, Ups
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
July 2nd, 2009
A hospital has apologised to a family and agreed to pay compensation following an incident in which a man died.
Gary Rayner, 46, went into Sunderland Royal Hospital on June 26th 2007 for a routine operation on his lymph nodes after previously beating cancer, the Sunderland Echo reports.
However, on June 30th, Mr Rayner began sweating profusely and then went into cardiac arrest.
Although a crash team was called, they could not resuscitate him and he died at 23:00 BST.
A subsequent investigation revealed that staff failed to provide anti-clotting drugs until June 28th, by which time it was too late for the patient.
Les Boobis, medical director and consultant surgeon of City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, gave evidence to support this and it was ruled that Mr Rayner’s family should receive compensation.
A spokesperson for the hospital said a compensation settlement had been agreed with the family of the deceased.
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.
Tags: Cancer, Cardiac Arrest, City Hospitals, Clinical Negligence, Consultant Surgeon, Crash Team, Drugs, Foundation Trust, Health Service, Hospital Negligence, Injury Death, Lymph Nodes, Medical Director, Rayner, Routine Operation, Spokesperson, Subsequent Investigation, Sunderland Echo
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April 29th, 2009
The parents of a teenager who died in hospital after being given drugs that were later described as inappropriate have been awarded damages by an NHS trust.
Alexander Newton, 18, had Duchenne muscular dystrophy and was being treated at the Royal United Hospital in Bath in 2005.
However, he was given the strong painkiller cocodamol and the sleeping drug Zopiclone and went on to suffer hallucinations and three respiratory arrests.
Alexander died after 16 days in hospital.
His parents Barrie Newton, 60, and Pamela, 58, took legal action against the Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust for clinical negligence after a coroner ruled that the drugs "took their toll" on their son’s health, although they did not kill him directly.
Although the NHS trust did not admit liability, it has agreed to a "considered sum of money" to compensate for the distress caused to Alexander before his death.
Zopiclone is a hypnotic sleeping drug and a side effect listed by RDS Alert is palpitations in some patients.
Tags: Alexander, Barrie, Clinical Negligence, Cocodamol, Coroner, Damages, Drugs, Hallucinations, Health, Muscular Dystrophy, Newton 18, Nhs Trust, Painkiller, Pamela, Parents, Royal Trust, Royal United Hospital, Sum Of Money, Teenager, Zopiclone
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
