October 16th, 2009
A woman who was left with a memory span of ten minutes after suffering from a brain haemorrhage has received a multi-million pound payout.
Cristina Malcolm, 41, collapsed in July 2002 with a terrible headache, but was told when she sought medical advice that it was a virus.
In fact, blood had already leaked into her brain and she then went on to suffer a more serious haemorrhage.
Mrs Malcolm was taken to Newcastle General Hospital to have half a litre of blood removed from her brain, but it was too late to reverse the damage and the patient was left brain damaged.
She now needs constant care from her husband Sandy, who describes her as "like a ten-year-old with Alzheimer’s".
GP Dr James Harrison, Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust all admitted to clinical negligence and have agreed to a compensation payout of £4.46 million.
Settlements for brain damage are typically larger than those for other injuries since the money must cover the long-term care of the patient. Anyone affected by cases such as this may wish to seek legal advice.
Tags: Acute Hospitals Nhs Trust, Brain Damage, Brain Haemorrhage, Clinical Negligence, Constant Care, Darlington, Dr James, Gp, Headache, Hospitals Nhs Trust, James Harrison, Left Brain, Legal Advice, Litre, Long Term Care, Medical Advice, Memory Span, Newcastle General Hospital, Quot
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October 2nd, 2009
A man from Barrow-in-Furness is to be paid compensation after using a vibrating tool at work left him with a permanent injury.
John Sides, 44, was an employee at cleaning products manufacturer Robert McBride and had been using a grinder to remove paint from a floor, the Workplace Law Network reports.
After using the equipment for two days, Mr Sides began to suffer problems with his shoulder and now has permanent symptoms associated with hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
He took legal action against the company because he had not been given any training on how to use the grinder and because his injuries have left him unable to do his decorating job properly.
Robert McBride admitted negligence and agreed to a compensation payout of £17,500.
Spokesman for the trade union GMB Tom Brennan said: "Had his employer taken more care to give him training on how to use the tool correctly to minimise vibration, this accident could have been avoided."
Last month, GP Martin Scurr said in an article for the Daily Mail that anyone who has developed work-related HAVS should look into making a compensation claim because it is a recognised industrial disease.
Tags: Arm Vibration Syndrome, Barrow In Furness, Barrow Man, Cleaning Products, Compensation Claim, Daily Mail, Gmb, Gp, Grinder, Hand Arm Vibration, Job, Negligence, Paint, Products Manufacturer, Robert Mcbride, Scurr, Spokesman, Tom Brennan, Workplace Law
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September 15th, 2009
A man who may have gone on to play rugby for his country has been awarded compensation of £80,000 after an injury and a subsequent misdiagnosis cut his career short.
The unnamed man, now 23, suffered a scaphoid fracture to his wrist during a game when he was 16. Although he was taken to hospital in North Devon, medics failed to spot the injury and told him to simply rest.
By the time the fracture was spotted by a GP five months later, further damage had been done and the victim needed a bone graft and three operations.
He lost his chance to play rugby professionally and still suffers from pain in his wrist.
The man decided to pursue a compensation claim because the hospital should have offered an X-ray a week after the accident in order to make sure there was no scaphoid fracture present.
In a new development, the hospital has agreed that it was negligent in not calling him back for further treatment and agreed to a payout of £80,000.
According to Arthroscopy.com, scaphoid fractures must be treated relatively quickly because pieces of broken bone, which are loose inside the wrist joint, will eventually cause a deterioration of the wrist joint called traumatic arthritis if the injury is left.
Tags: Arthritis, Bone Graft, Broken Bone, Career, Compensation Claim, Deterioration, Five Months, Fractures, Game, Gp, Medics, North Devon, Rugby Player, Scaphoid Fracture, Traumatic Arthritis, Unnamed Man, X Ray
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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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May 26th, 2009
The family of a woman who died from meningitis after her symptoms were repeatedly dismissed by doctors is preparing to take legal action against the NHS trust its members hold responsible.
Karen Finan fell ill on April 12th and her husband Darren called her GP for a home visit. He diagnosed gastroenteritis and said she would soon recover.
However, her symptoms worsened and she began to suffer with a fever and severe headaches, the Daily Mail reports.
Despite Mr Finan calling out another doctor, his wife was still not diagnosed and the family was told to "stop fussing" and put her to bed where she would recover.
The young mother’s condition worsened and she eventually slipped into a coma. Although she was rushed to hospital, her brain had swollen and the decision was made to switch off her life support machine five days after she first fell ill.
"They say with meningitis that every hour is critical – the longer they misdiagnosed Karen the more she was slipping away from us. We have been robbed," said Mr Finan.
A spokesperson for NHS Wakefield said the trust is investigating the incident and the proposed legal action from Ms Finan’s family.
According to statistics published by the Meningitis Trust, 500,000 people in the UK have had some form of meningitis at one time in their lives.
Tags: Brain, Daily Mail, Doctors, Family Statistics, Fever, Finan, Gp, Life Support Machine, Mail Reports, Meningitis Symptoms, Nhs Trust, Severe Headaches, Spokesperson, Trust 500, Wakefield, Young Mother, Young Woman
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