May 20th, 2011
In May 2008 *Sarah* attended her GP as she was suffering a sore throat. It was suspected that she had tonsillitis and was prescribed erythromycin.
The following day she had developed a rash on her hands and feet so she returned to see the practice nurse. She was advised to stop taking the antibiotics. Over the next few days the rash disappeared.
In November 2008 Sarah was suffering another sore throat so went back to her GP. She was given erythromycin once more, despite informing her GP that she had previously had a reaction to that medication. She was told to return if she had any problems.
The following day she developed a rash with blisters and pus over her arms and legs. She saw a different GP who told her to stop taking erythromycin and prescribed another antibiotic.
One day later the rash had got worse so Sarah attended her local Accident and Emergency department. Sarah was advised that the rash was due to an adverse reaction to erythromycin and she should stop taking all medication.
Sarah returned four days later and it was noted that she had made some improvement but continued to have some superficial scarring. In total it took approximately three weeks for the rash to subside.
Sarah contacted Ian Kirwan, a specialist clinical negligence solicitor at Pryers Solicitors, to investigate her case on a no win no fee agreement.
After investigations allegations were put to the defendant who responded to say that the majority of GPs would not review previous records and therefore Sarah’s GP had not acted negligently. Expert evidence was obtained which advised that all GPs have a duty to review past medication and any recorded adverse reactions and therefore there was a clear breach of the GPs duty of care.
The arguments from the expert were put to the defendant along with an offer of £2,000 to settle the case. The Defendant made a counter offer of £500 and the case was finally settled for £1,250, which Sarah was pleased to accept along with the Defendant paying all of her legal costs so she kept 100% of her compensation.
Tags: Accident And Emergency, Adverse Reaction, Adverse Reactions, Allergic Reaction To Antibiotics, Arms And Legs, Blisters, Clinical Negligence Solicitor, Defendant, Duty Of Care, Emergency Department, Erythromycin, Expert Evidence, Hands And Feet, Kirwan, Practice Nurse, Previous Records, Pus, Rash On, Solicitors, Sore Throat
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May 20th, 2011
In March 2008, following the birth of her third child, *Hannah* underwent a sterilisation procedure at her local hospital in Lancashire. Following the surgery Hannah was discharged home and believed that the surgery had been successful.
However, in March 2009 Hannah found that she was pregnant once more and that the foetus was approximately eight weeks old. She made the difficult decision to undergo a termination procedure which was carried out seven days later under general anaesthetic.
After returning home Hannah found that she was passing small blood clots and therefore contacted the Gynaecology department of her hospital. It was found that some parts of the pregnancy had not been removed during her termination procedure and that therefore Hannah would require further surgery under general anaesthetic to remove these retained products of conception.
Hannah was keen to find out why her sterilisation had failed and underwent a diagnostic procedure which found that one of the clips on her fallopian tube had slipped out of place and that therefore only one tube was sterilised, leaving the other working fully and allowing Hannah to become pregnant.
Hannah suffered considerable mental and physical trauma as a result of the failed sterilisation and necessity for two procedures under general anaesthetic, which she struggled to come to terms with.
In April 2009 Hannah contacted Anna Renfree, a specialist clinical negligence solicitor at Pryers Solicitors. Investigations into the case were commenced and in September 2009 a letter outlining the allegations of the hospitals failings was sent to the Defendant.
The Defendant responded, admitting that they had failed in their duty of care to Hannah. Negotiations to settle the case commenced and in April 2011 Hannah was pleased to accept an offer of £12,500 in addition to a formal apology from the Defendant.
The Defendant also paid all of Hannah’s legal costs so she had nothing to pay for her case and kept 100% of her compensation.
Tags: Allegations, Blood Clots, Clinical Negligence Solicitor, Defendant, Diagnostic Procedure, Difficult Decision, Duty Of Care, Fallopian Tube, Foetus, Formal Apology, General Anaesthetic, Hannah, Lancashire, Local Hospital, Physical Trauma, Returning Home, Seven Days, Solicitors, Termination Procedure, Third Child
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May 20th, 2011
In April 2009 *Susan* attended her local hospital in the midlands for surgery to repair a hiatus hernia. The surgery itself was uneventful and she awoke from general anaesthetic as expected. Susan was then transferred to a ward, where she did not have any form of hand-over or orientation.
The following morning Susan was in a lot of pain and was prescribed morphine tablets. A short while after taking this Susan began to feel nauseous and had a sudden urge to use the toilet. Susan called for a nurse who told her to wait a minute before going away and not returning.
As Susan was desperate to use the toilet she got out of bed and walked across her room to the toilet. She made her way into the toilet cubicle before fainting. When she regained consciousness she was lying on the floor of the bathroom and had a considerable pain in her ankle.
A nurse then came into the bathroom and found Susan on the floor she was helped back to bed before being sent for an x-ray of her ankle. It was confirmed that Susan had fractured her ankle in a number of places and required surgery to fix the fracture, this was carried out the same day and Susan remained in hospital for a further ten days following surgery.
Susan remained non-weight bearing and in a wheelchair for a total of four weeks and in plaster until June 2009. Susan commenced physiotherapy in July 2009 but continues to have difficulties walking and to have pain in her ankle, especially in cold or damp weather.
In April 2009 Susan contacted Anna Renfree, a specialist clinical negligence solicitor at Pryers Solicitors. Investigations were made into her case and expert evidence was obtained from a care expert on Susan’s mobility difficulties and care needs.
Allegations of the Defendant’s breach of their duty of care were put to the Defendant and this was admitted. Further evidence was then obtained from a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon regarding Susan’s current condition and prognosis. This allowed for detailed valuation of the claim and negotiations to settle commenced.
An offer to settle the case for £12,000 was made by Susan, which was rejected, but after some negotiation Susan was happy to settle the case for £11,000 plus all of her legal costs so she kept 100% of her compensation.
Tags: Allegations, Clinical Negligence Solicitor, Current Condition, Damp Weather, Defendant, Duty Of Care, Expert Evidence, Fracture, General Anaesthetic, Hiatus Hernia, Local Hospital, Lying On The Floor, Mobility Difficulties, Morphine, Nauseous, Plaster, Prognosis, Solicitors, Toilet Cubicle, X Ray
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February 18th, 2011
In February 2008 *Doreen*underwent bowel obstruction surgery in South Yorkshire. She was then discharged and put under the care of District Nurses. While her wound was care for and attended to regularly Doreen was initially bed bound and her pressure areas were not checked or managed.
In May 2008 it was discovered that Doreen was suffering from a necrotic right heel ulcer by her GP. This reached the stage whereby Doreen had to be re-admitted to hospital in June 2008 with sepsis in the heel, in addition to septic arthritis of the right knee. It was felt that it would be too risky to operate on Doreen and her treatment was conservative.
Doreen was referred to the Orthotics department to get a heel lift and relieve pressure when walking.
Doreen then started to suffer skin tears and further pressure sores on her buttocks. Her condition continued to gradually worsen and led to her death in July 2008.
Doreen’s daughter contacted Anna Renfree, clinical negligence specialist at Pryers in November 2008 and we started to investigate the claim. She entered into a ‘no win no fee’ agreement to fund the case.
A letter of claim was served on the Defendant in May 2010 and in November 2010 the Defendant responded, admitting that they were in breach of their duty of care but denying that this led to Doreen’s death. The Defendant offered £7,500 to settle.
Anna then worked with our in house microbiology expert, Dr Kirwan, who advised that Doreen had suffered from a bacterial infection which had provided an entry point for infection. Swabs of the pressure sore on the heal showed Klebsiella Pneumoniae culture and Doreen’s principle cause of death was recorded as pneumonia.
We returned to the Defendant with this evidence and asked them to re-consider our original offer of £20,000. They agreed to this, which Doreen’s daughter was pleased to accept.
The Defendant also paid all of the client’s legal costs so they had nothing to pay during or after the case and she received 100% of her damages for her mother’s estate.
Tags: Bacterial Infection, Bowel Obstruction, Buttocks, Cause Of Death, Clinical Negligence, Defendant, District Nurses, Doreen, Dr Kirwan, Duty Of Care, Pneumonia, Pressure Areas, Pressure Sores, Principle Cause, Sepsis, Septic Arthritis, Skin Tears, South Yorkshire, Swabs, Ulcer
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October 21st, 2009
A woman is taking legal action against a surgeon who she says ruined her life after what should have been a routine operation.
Vivienne Edwards went into the Whittington Hospital in London in September 2006 for a procedure to correct her lower back pain.
Dr Dhinh Nguyen said he could scrape away some bone and leave the patient pain-free.
However, when Ms Edwards awoke, she had severe bowel and bladder problems, nerve damage, clawed feet and numbness in her arms and legs, the London Evening Standard reports.
She realised that Dr Nguyen must have severed a nerve, but he denied that the problems had been caused by the operation.
The patient decided to sue the surgeon and Whittington Hospitals NHS Trust for clinical negligence four months ago and her solicitors believe that she could receive as much as £500,000 in compensation after complaints emerged from other patients.
"I’ve become very solitary. My life revolves around hospitals. It’s horrible. I’m only 60," Ms Edwards commented.
For clinical negligence claims to be successful, solicitors must prove that a duty of care existed between the patient and the medical professional and that he or she breached this.
Tags: Arms And Legs, Bladder Problems, Clinical Negligence, Duty Of Care, Four Months, Hospitals Nhs Trust, London Evening Standard, Lower Back Pain, Ms Edwards, Nerve Damage, Nguyen, Numbness, Patient Pain, Routine Operation, Solicitors, Whittington Hospital, Woman
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