July 29th, 2009
A woman who was left brain damaged due to errors at her birth has been awarded compensation to cover her long-term care.
Lucy Jones, now 24, was born at the former Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon in February 1984, the Swindon Advertiser reports.
Although her mother was suffering problems, staff did not make the decision to carry out a Caesarean until 04:15 GMT, by which time Lucy had been starved of oxygen.
A subsequent investigation found that the operation could have been performed by 01:30 GMT in order to make the situation safer for the baby.
Lucy’s family took legal action against the Avon, Gloucester & Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority, which has now admitted liability and agreed to pay a seven-figure sum that should pay for Lucy’s care needs for the rest of her life.
According to Scope, approximately one in four children is born with cerebral palsy in the UK.
Tags: Advertiser Reports, Amp, Avon, Brain, Cerebral Palsy, Figure Sum, Former Princess Margaret Hospital, Gloucester, Gmt, Long Term Care, Lucy Jones, Negligence, Oxygen, Princess Margaret Hospital, Scope, Strategic Health Authority, Subsequent Investigation, Swindon Advertiser, Woman
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
July 2nd, 2009
A hospital has apologised to a family and agreed to pay compensation following an incident in which a man died.
Gary Rayner, 46, went into Sunderland Royal Hospital on June 26th 2007 for a routine operation on his lymph nodes after previously beating cancer, the Sunderland Echo reports.
However, on June 30th, Mr Rayner began sweating profusely and then went into cardiac arrest.
Although a crash team was called, they could not resuscitate him and he died at 23:00 BST.
A subsequent investigation revealed that staff failed to provide anti-clotting drugs until June 28th, by which time it was too late for the patient.
Les Boobis, medical director and consultant surgeon of City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, gave evidence to support this and it was ruled that Mr Rayner’s family should receive compensation.
A spokesperson for the hospital said a compensation settlement had been agreed with the family of the deceased.
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.
Tags: Cancer, Cardiac Arrest, City Hospitals, Clinical Negligence, Consultant Surgeon, Crash Team, Drugs, Foundation Trust, Health Service, Hospital Negligence, Injury Death, Lymph Nodes, Medical Director, Rayner, Routine Operation, Spokesperson, Subsequent Investigation, Sunderland Echo
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
March 13th, 2009
A man who may be unable to have children after a delay in the treatment of a fertility problem is to receive compensation.
Leon Whitworth had an accident in December 1999 which ruptured his urethra. A subsequent investigation found that he had a particularly low sperm count and may be unable to have children.
"Most men have 20 million sperm cells but I have only three, not three million, just three," he commented.
Although Mr Whitworth thought his fertility problem occurred when doctors did not adequately treat his urethra, his solicitors found that a delay in treatment of an undescended testicle when he was eight is likely to have reduced his ability to father children.
He launched a negligence claim against the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and has now received £25,000 in compensation in an out-of-court settlement, which is to be used to pay for IVF for him and his partner.
A spokesperson for the NHS Litigation Authority – which was established in 1995 and is responsible for handling negligence claims made against NHS bodies in England – declined to comment on the specifics of the case.
Tags: Court Settlement, Fertility Doctors, Fertility Problem, Ivf, Litigation, Negligence Claim, Negligence Claims, Nhs Bodies, Nhs Litigation Authority, Norwich Hospital, Partner, Solicitors, Specifics, Sperm Cells, Spokesperson, Subsequent Investigation, Undescended Testicle, Urethra, Whitworth
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
February 19th, 2009
A woman is seeking damages of up to £300,000 after her husband was killed in a car crash while working for the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Paul Jennings, 50, was an engineering contractor for the organisation in Germany in June 2006, the Derby Evening Telegraph attests.
He had been on his way to a barracks in Monchengladbach with two other men when the vehicle they were in was hit by a lorry at a junction where the traffic lights were out of order.
Mr Jennings was killed and his colleagues were seriously hurt. However, the MoD did not take fingerprints from the car, did not test seatbelts and failed to take blood samples in the subsequent investigation.
"I don’t believe they took my husband’s death very seriously and I don’t think they carried out the investigation very thoroughly," said Beverley Jennings.
She took legal action against the MoD, which states that it has admitted liability and is now working towards a settlement with Ms Jennings.
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, established in 2005, provides compensation for all injuries, ill health and deaths that occur mostly during service.
Tags: Armed Forces, Blood Samples, Car Crash, Colleagues, Compensation Scheme, Damages, Deaths, Derby Evening Telegraph, Fingerprints, Germany, Ill Health, Lorry, Ministry Of Defence, Monchengladbach, Mr Jennings, Paul Jennings, Subsequent Investigation, Traffic Lights, Woman
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
October 21st, 2008
A company has been fined for breaching health and safety regulations after two workers were left dangling 50 feet in the air without harnesses.
Andrew Hawkins and John Page were working for PMA Systems on a shopping centre in Norwich when the gantry stair they were both on overturned.
Both men were left holding on to their equipment in order to avoid falling. Mr Page managed to climb to safety, but Mr Hawkins, who had dislocated his shoulder, was unable to do so and had to wait for the emergency services.
Mr Hawkins was unable to return to work for almost a year after the accident.
A subsequent investigation found that neither man had a copy of PMA Systems’ risk assessment, nor had they been provided with safety harnesses to support them.
The company has now been fined £20,000 with costs of £10,275 and a £15 surcharge.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, six million working days were lost due to workplace injury in 2006-07.
Tags: Accident Investigation, Emergency Services, Gantry, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Norwich, Risk Assessment, Safety Harnesses, Safety Regulations, Shopping Centre, Subsequent Investigation, Workplace Injury
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
