August 7th, 2009
A council worker has been paid £10,000 in compensation after conditions in her job resulted in her developing problems with her back.
Kay Fagg, 62, was an employee at Southend-on-Sea Borough Council in 2003 when the castors on her chair broke.
Despite complaining, the chair was not replaced and the resulting poor posture led to her developing a slipped disc in her back. She went on to nearly die during an operation to correct the problem.
Ms Fagg took legal action against the council for failing to protect its employees.
"People do not realise how debilitating it is to suffer from back pain and how common this type of situation is," she commented.
The council has now agreed to the payout, stating that it takes health and safety issues very seriously.
According to BBC Health, back pain is the largest single cause of sickness absence from work and at least half of people with back pain have recurring problems.
Tags: Absence From Work, Back Injury, Back Pain, Bbc, Bbc Health, Castors, Fagg, Health And Safety, Job, Kay, People, Poor Posture, Posture, Safety Issues, Sea Borough Council, Sickness Absence, Southend On Sea, Southend On Sea Borough Council
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
June 2nd, 2009
A new system has been proposed in Scotland that would make compensation for clinical negligence easier to claim.
At present, patients injured as a result of medical treatment must prove responsibility or have the NHS trust involved admit to it, which can be a lengthy and complicated process.
However, health secretary Nicola Sturgeon is investigating whether a different system could be put in place that would allow patients to claim ‘no fault’ payouts.
This could lead to compensation for thousands of people who contracted superbugs such as MRSA in hospital.
The plans are to be proposed and discussed further in 2010.
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.
Anyone who has suffered as a result of this should seek a solicitor specialising in clinical negligence claims in order to increase their likelihood of receiving a payout.
Tags: Clinical Negligence Claims, Health Secretary, Health Service, Injury Death, Lead, Likelihood, Medical Treatment, Mrsa, Nhs Trust, Nicola Sturgeon, People, Scotland, Solicitor Specialising, Sturgeon
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
April 23rd, 2009
An NHS trust has awarded compensation of £6.3 million to the parents of a girl who was left brain damaged due to mistakes at her birth.
Ellie Matraves was born clinically dead at Lister Hospital in Herfordshire in 2002 because medical staff had not noticed that she was showing signs of distress, the high court heard.
She had to be aggressively resuscitated for several hours and developed cerebral palsy, leaving her with communication problems and a reduced developmental age, the BBC reports.
Her parents Claire and Colin Matraves took legal action against the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust for clinical negligence.
"We feel it is important for people to understand that if it hadn’t been for the hospital’s appalling negligence, our daughter would have been born a healthy non-disabled baby girl," they said in a statement.
The trust admitted liability and has agreed to a £2.4 million lump sum payout, as well as annual payments to cover care for the rest of Ellie’s life.
According to Scope, one in 400 children in the UK suffers from cerebral palsy. Around ten per cent of cerebral palsy compensation claims are due to complications at birth.
Tags: 3m, Baby Girl, Bbc, Brain, Cerebral Palsy, Clinical Negligence, Communication Problems, Compensation Claims, Ellie, Herfordshire, Lump Sum Payout, Medical Staff, Nhs Trust, North Hertfordshire, Parents, People, Scope, Signs
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
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
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
