November 9th, 2009
A boy has been awarded more than £250,000 in a clinical negligence claim against Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.
Grant Hembry of Plymouth, who is now 11, was awarded the money after a medical blunder during his birth left him with shoulder dystocia, a condition that meant he was unable to use his right shoulder, arm and hand because of nerve damage.
He was awarded £270,795, including £60,000 for the pain and suffering caused by the incident, after the Trust admitted clinical negligence, reports The Herald.
A spokesman for the Trust said: "We were extremely disappointed by this [incident] and apologise for it as we strive to provide the highest possible standard of care to all of our patients."
Last month, a ten-year-old boy was awarded £7.1 million in a clinical negligence claim against Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.
Harry Snowdon of Oxfordshire suffered brain damage as a result of complications with his birth.
Tags: 1 Million, Apologise, Brain Damage, Clinical Negligence, Hospitals Nhs Trust, Medical Blunder, Money, Negligence Claim, Nerve Damage, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Nhs Trust, Oxfordshire, Pain And Suffering, Plymouth, Shoulder Arm, Shoulder Dystocia, Snowdon, Spokesman, Wins
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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 11th, 2009
A woman from Essex is to receive compensation after a hospital failed to deal with a condition which led to her baby being stillborn.
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in Harlow is to pay Louisa Greenslade a five-figure sum after admitting medical negligence, reports the Harrow Herald.
The admission came after routine tests carried out in March 2005 during Ms Greenslade’s pregnancy detected unusual levels of glucose and protein.
Although the results may have been indicative of gestational diabetes, staff at the hospital did not act on them.
Ms Greenslade’s daughter Rowen was stillborn in June 2005.
In 2006, she gave birth to a healthy son, Flynn. During that pregnancy she received treatment for gestational diabetes at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
A spokesman from Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust said it had now put in place measures to minimise the risk of a similar medical negligence case occurring in its maternity unit.
News of the settlement came as the Safer Births network was launched to help improve safety standards in England’s maternity departments.
Tags: Addenbrooke S Hospital, Births, Essex, Figure Sum, Gestational Diabetes, Glucose, Harlow, Harrow, Hospital Negligence, Hospital Nhs Trust, Maternity Unit, Medical Negligence Case, Place Measures, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Routine Tests, Rowen, Safety Standards, Spokesman, Stillborn, Unit News
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September 8th, 2009
Stockton Borough Council has defended its footpath maintenance regime, despite paying out more than £1 million in compensation to people injured in trips and falls on its pavements in the last five years.
Figures obtained by a Freedom of Information request made by the Liberal Democrats showed that local authorities in England paid out £82 million to settle compensation claims related to accidents caused by the poor condition of pavements between 2004 and 2009.
In Stockton, the council made 26 payments totalling £1.2 million – a significantly higher figure than in neighbouring areas, but well short of the £10.2 million paid by Leeds City Council.
The amount may rise, as Stockton Borough Council is still dealing with a further 67 compensation claims.
A council spokesman told the Darlington & Stockton Times that it had implemented a new pavement maintenance regime in order to reduce the number of accidents.
"That has resulted in a dramatic decrease in claims where compensation was made, from 15 claims in 2004-5 to only one in 2008-9," he said.
Tags: 2m, Accident Compensation, Accidents, Darlington, Dramatic Decrease, Footpath Maintenance, Freedom Of Information, Freedom Of Information Request, Leeds City Council, Liberal Democrats, Local Authorities In England, Neighbouring Areas, Pavement Maintenance, Pavements, Quot, Regime, Spokesman, Stockton Borough Council, Stockton Council
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September 7th, 2009
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has paid £150,000 compensation to the family of a man who died after staff failed to diagnose a serious heart condition.
David Whittaker, 61, died after suffering a torn artery, a condition known as aortic dissection.
However, staff at Queen’s Medical Centre failed to spot this when he went to the hospital after complaining of chest pains.
Staff carried out some tests on Mr Whittaker, but did not undertake an electrocardiogram – a scan which may have identified the condition and enabled doctors to treat it appropriately.
He was discharged from hospital, but died the following day.
Mr Whittaker’s widow pursued a medical negligence claim against the trust, which admitted there had been shortcomings in his treatment and agreed a settlement, which included the six-figure compensation payout.
"[The settlement] accepts that an inappropriate failure to diagnose and treat her late husband’s aortic dissection on July 24th 2006 and that, had appropriate treatment been provided, her late husband would probably have survived," a spokesman for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said.
News of the payout comes just weeks after the NHS Litigation Authority revealed the NHS spent £807 million to settle compensation claims in 2008-09.
Tags: Aortic Dissection, Chest Pains, Compensation Claims, David Whittaker, Doctors, Electrocardiogram, Failure, Hospitals Nhs Trust, July 24th, Litigation, Medical Centre, Medical Negligence Claim, Nhs Litigation Authority, Nottingham University, Queen, Serious Heart Condition, Shortcomings, Spokesman, University Hospitals Nhs Trust
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