January 7th, 2009
The remaining members of a family touched by tragedy due to hospital negligence have been paid compensation for their loss.
Bethany Bowen, five, was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, for a routine operation on her spleen in July 2006.
However, unbeknown to her parents Claire and Richard, the surgeon performing the operation was a trainee and the team had decided to use an untested piece of equipment on the child, the Daily Mail reports.
Bethany died on the operating table from a ruptured aorta. Tragically, due to stress, her father died of a heart attack 19 months later.
Claire Bowen launched legal action against the hospital, claiming: "If it hadn’t been for the arrogance of the surgeons involved, Bethany would still be alive."
The trust responsible for the hospital recently admitted clinical negligence and has now paid Claire and her two young sons £10,000 as an acknowledgement of their loss.
John Radcliffe Hospital is Oxfordshire’s main accident and emergency site and is the largest of the trust’s hospitals.
Tags: 19 Months, Accident And Emergency, Acknowledgement, Arrogance, Bowen, Clinical Negligence, Daily Mail, Heart Attack, Hospital Negligence, John Radcliffe Hospital, John Radcliffe Hospital Oxford, Mail Reports, Oxfordshire, Quot, Radcliffe Hospital Oxford, Routine Operation, Ruptured Aorta, Spleen, Tragedy
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
July 7th, 2008
North Sea Oil rig workers who raise concerns about safety are routinely sacked, it has been claimed.
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has warned that the practice is leading to a "culture of fear" and increasing the likelihood of an serious incident such as the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988, when 167 people died in what was the world’s worst off-shore tragedy.
Ian Tasker, assistant secretary of the STUC, said that many companies operated behavioural reporting systems which reward workers who do not report accidents, while many employees are dismissed for raising concerns, reports the Sunday Herald.
"It’s something we need to get to the bottom of because, in the 21st century, it’s a recipe for disaster if people are scared to raise health and safety concerns," he said.
The memories of those who died in the Piper Alpha tragedy were remembered with a minute’s silence yesterday (July 6th).
Tags: 21st Century, Accidents, Assistant Secretary, Culture Of Fear, Health And Safety, July 6th, Likelihood, North Sea Oil, Off Shore, Oil Rig, Piper Alpha Disaster, Reporting Systems, Safety Concerns, Silence, Stuc, Sunday Herald, Tasker, Trades Union Congress, Tragedy, Whistleblowers
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
