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
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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
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January 20th, 2009
A man who suffered serious side effects after testing a new drug has won a compensation battle with its manufacturers.
Leslie Thomas, 75, was left emaciated, dehydrated and with an irregular heartbeat after taking Vioxx, the Telegraph reports.
The drug was licensed in 1999 in the UK and marketed as a safer alternative to the older style non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, which could cause gastric bleeding, the Guardian attests.
However, it was withdrawn when studies from the US found it could double the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Although US victims had received billions of pounds in compensation, nobody in the UK had received a payout.
In a new development, Merck Sharp and Dohme have now dropped an appeal and have agreed to pay Mr Thomas £28,000 in an out-of-court settlement.
"I’m not happy with the sum of money but I’m thrilled at the principal. Now I’m hoping that my victory will enable others to take their case to court," he commented.
Merck Sharp and Dohme maintained that the case was unique and sets no precedent for other people affected.
Tags: Billions, Court Settlement, Drugs, Guardian, Heart Attacks, Irregular Heartbeat, Leslie Thomas, Merck, Merck Sharp And Dohme, Misery, Mr Thomas, Pensioner, People, Risk, Strokes, Sum Of Money, Telegraph, Victory, Vioxx
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