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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November 11th, 2009
A mother is suing for dental negligence after her son was left with brain damage following a visit to the dentist.
Anne Marie Gallacher is seeking £2.5 million in compensation from the Greater Glasgow Health Board over what happened to her son Ryan, reports the Scotsman.
In March 2002, when he was six, Ryan was put under general anaesthetic in order to have a number of teeth removed.
But his heart stopped during the operation and, although he was resuscitated, he was left with “significant intellectual impairment”.
The dental negligence claim made by the Gallachers, of Old Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, claims that blame for the incident lies with the anaesthetist Dr Alexander Colquhoun.
Dr Colquhoun, who had worked part-time at the Townhead dental clinic in addition to his role as a consultant at Glasgow Royal Infirmary when the incident occurred, denies he was to blame for Ryan’s brain damage.
The case continues.
Earlier this week, Charlotte Gillespie, of Ramsbottom, was awarded medical negligence compensation after she suffered brain damage following errors made during her birth, reported the Bury Times.
Tags: Anaesthetist, Brain Damage, Bury Times, Dental Clinic, Dental Negligence, Dr Alexander, Dr Colquhoun, Dunbartonshire, General Anaesthetic, Gillespie, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Greater Glasgow Health, Greater Glasgow Health Board, Intellectual Impairment, Medical Negligence Compensation, Negligence Claim, Old Kilpatrick, Ramsbottom, Son Ryan, Visit To The Dentist
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September 29th, 2009
A family has been awarded £410,000 in compensation after a woman died due to errors during a caesarean section.
Joanne Lockham, 45, had been admitted to Stoke Mandeville Hospital at Aylesbury in October 2007 and staff made the decision to give her a caesarean when her baby’s heartbeat dropped.
The patient was put under a general anaesthetic, but doctors mistakenly inserted the oxygen tube into her oesophagus and not her windpipe. She was deprived of oxygen for half an hour and her heart stopped a minute after the baby was born.
Ms Lockham’s life support was turned off two days later.
Her husband Peter decided to sue Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust after it admitted liability for the death and for "serious failings" in Ms Lockham’s care.
Mr Justice Burnett has now approved a compensation settlement of £410,000 for the loss and to cover the long-term care needs of the baby.
According to Babycentre.co.uk, approximately one in four pregnant women gives birth by caesarean every year.
Tags: Aylesbury, Babycentre, C Section, Caesarean Section, Doctors, General Anaesthetic, Half An Hour, Heart, Heartbeat, Hospitals Nhs Trust, Joanne, Long Term Care, Mr Justice, Oesophagus, Oxygen Tube, Pregnant Women
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June 12th, 2009
A mother whose son suffered complications after he was circumcised at a private clinic is planning to take legal action against the GP responsible for the operation.
This Is Staffordshire reported that Faiqa Akram and her husband Nadeem are getting ready to lodge a claim for potential clinical negligence against Manchester-based doctor Munir Butt.
Ms Akram paid £80 for her three-month old son, Naveed, to be circumcised at Dr Butt’s private clinic, as she could not have the treatment on the NHS.
But she described the clinic as a "circumcision factory" and said the family "could not believe" what they saw inside.
"There were 12 other babies waiting to be seen. When it was Naveed’s turn, we had to leave him on a wooden table with just a changing mat," she said.
When Ms Akram later brought the baby to a doctor, he was then referred to a surgeon at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, where he needed to undergo a full operation under general anaesthetic. It is thought he could require further surgery to repair the damage.
A total of four boys have needed hospital treatment at the facility after complications arising from private circumcisions.
The University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust serves around half a million people in the Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyne.
Tags: Akram, Babies, Butt, Circumcision, Circumcisions, Clinical Negligence, General Anaesthetic, Gp, Half A Million, Mother Son, Nadeem, Negligence Claim, Newcastle Under Lyne, Nhs Trust, North Staffordshire, Private Clinic
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