May 20th, 2011
*Claire* had a history which included previously developing a DVT during a surgical procedure in 1984.
In January of 2010 Claire required further surgery as she had developed stress incontinence. At her pre-operative assessment she was not assessed for risks of Venous Thrombo Embolism. The surgery was carried out and Claire was discharged home the following day.
Ten days later Claire attended her GP complaining of pain in her calf. Her GP suspected that she had developed a DVT and admitted her to hospital for investigations.
Claire was treated with compression stockings and anoxaparin and clexane until she had a CT scan which showed a thrombus in two of her veins in her lower leg.
Claire commenced warfarin treatment which continued until June 2010.
Claire contacted Alex McKnight at Pryers Solicitors in January 2010. Her claim was investigated and in October 2010 allegations were put to the Defendant that Claire should have been assessed for DVT risks prior to surgery, and should have been given a shot of clexane following surgery to minimise the risk of any DVT developing.
The Defendant admitted this and apologised for their omission. Negotiations to settle the case commenced and in April 2011 the Defendant made an offer to settle of £5,000 which Claire was happy to accept.
The Defendant also paid all of Claire’s legal costs so she kept 100% of her compensation.
Tags: Alex, Allegations, Clexane, Compression Stockings, Ct Scan, Defendant, Dvt, Gp, Investigations, Leads, Negotiations, Omission, Pre Operative Assessment, Risk, Solicitors, Stress Incontinence, Thrombo Embolism, Thrombus, Veins, Warfarin
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May 20th, 2011
In May 2006 *Rachel* underwent a knee replacement procedure at her local hospital in Yorkshire.
Following the knee replacement Rachel continued to suffer pain and discomfort and complained of this on a number of occasions to her physiotherapist and GP. Rachel was struggling to carry out a number of the physiotherapy exercises because she had such reduced movement in her knee.
By the end of July 2006 Rachel’s GP was so concerned about her slow recovery that he referred her for investigations and to have a manipulation procedure on the knee.
After the manipulation procedure Rachel did not feel that her position had been improved at all either in relieving the pain or increasing the range of movement.
By January 2007 Rachel felt she could no longer manage the pain that she was in and returned to her GP once more and was referred back to the hospital who simply sent Rachel for further physiotherapy which gave no further relief from her symptoms.
During February 2007 Rachel underwent a number of x-rays through the hospital but no concerns were raised following these, even though one showed that her leg was not straight.
In May 2007 Rachel returned to her GP and asked to be referred for a second opinion. She was referred to a different hospital in Yorkshire. Rachel underwent a thorough review by the consultant there and was informed that one component of her knee replacement was too big and that this was the cause of all of her pain and difficulties walking.
Rachel underwent surgery in December 2007 to replace the incorrect part of the knee following which Rachel commenced a long recovery process. She has not yet fully recovered and has been informed that there is little more that can be done.
Rachel contacted Alex McKnight, a specialist in clinical negligence matters at Pryers Solicitors, in February 2009 and investigations into her case commenced.
Medical evidence on Rachel’s current condition and prognosis was commissioned initially, in addition to further evidence on the failings of the initial hospital.
Lengthy negotiations commenced to settle the claim and in March 2011 an offer was made by the Defendant to settle the claim for £20,000.
The Defendant also paid all of Rachel’s costs incurred in the case so she received 100% of her compensation.
Tags: Alex, Clinical Negligence, Current Condition, Gp, Investigations, Knee Replacement, Leads, Local Hospital, Manipulation, Medical Evidence, Occasions, Physiotherapist, Physiotherapy, Prognosis, Second Opinion, Solicitors, X Rays, Yorkshire
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May 20th, 2011
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.
Tags: Abdomen, Admission, Alex, Allegations, Antibiotics, Appointment, Clinical Negligence, Contact, Defendant, England, Expert Evidence, Gp, Inch Scar, Investigations, Leads, Local Hospital, Occasions, Solicitors, Urgent Ct Scan
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February 18th, 2011
Paul was suffering from Dypuytren’s Contracture, a condition which affects the hands, causing thickening of the tissues and the fingers to bend into the palm, in his left (non dominant) hand.
Paul attended his GP and was referred to his local treatment centre in Milton Keynes in March 2009 and underwent surgery to release the contracture in May 2009. Paul was then discharged home with pain relief and told to rest and keep his hand elevated. He had also been advised by a nurse to wriggle his fingers.
Paul returned to the treatment centre to have his dressing changed and to have stitches removed on two separate occasions, at neither of these appointments was Paul referred for physiotherapy.
Three weeks following his surgery Paul was continuing to experience pain and swelling in his hand and went to his local Walk in Centre where he was reassured and discharged. At his next appointment at the treatment centre he mentioned this again but was just told to keep wriggling his fingers and that the wound was healing nicely.
Paul returned to his GP on a number of occasions and was referred for further appointments at the treatment centre. He was also referred to a Hand Therapy unit where he was given some exercises and treatments to carry out, but which he found very difficult and painful.
After several sessions Paul went back to his GP and was referred to a different consultant. At this appointment he was informed that he should have had physiotherapy, starting 48 hours after the surgery and that as a result of not having this, the hand had stiffened up.
Paul has since seen a number of specialists and has undergone treatment but continues to suffer pain and is unable to clench his hand in a fist.
Paul contacted Pryers in September 2009 and his claim was managed by Alex McKnight, a clinical negligence specialist. His claim was funded by way of a ‘no win no fee’ agreement.
Pauls claim was investigated and expert evidence was sought from a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon. With our investigations and this advice we submitted a Letter of Claim to the Defendant, who responded admitting breach of duty and offering £50,000 to settle in November 2010, which Paul was very happy to accept
The Defendant paid all of Paul’s legal costs so he had nothing to pay during or after the case and kept 100% of his compensation.
Tags: Alex, Appointment, Appointments, Clinical Negligence, Contracture, Dominant Hand, Exercises, Expert Evidence, Fingers, Fist, Gp, Milton Keynes, Nurse, Occasions, Pain Relief, Palm, Physiotherapy, Several Sessions, Stitches, Tissues
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