Clinical Negligence Success Stories

A case involving a child with cerebral palsy. Normally cerebral palsy cases are brought arising from oxygen starvation in the course of a birth but in this case the allegation was that because of the child's father's hereditary condition, the child should have had a full blood transfusion immediately after birth. Failure to carry out the transfusion caused the child to develop jaundice and brain damage. The case was eventually conceded by the Defendant NHS Trust and a settlement was agreed at a round table meeting which included a substantial payment in respect of the damages for the brain damage, future care, aids and equipment and loss of earnings. Additionally by the time of the settlement the family had moved to new accommodation allowing a lift to be installed. Settlement: £2.55 million

This case involved a child who had been starved of oxygen at birth. The child had developmental problems as a result of what had happened and required ongoing care and assistance, aids and equipment and also adaptations to property. The case was fought on liability, causation and value by the Health Trust until eventually the case was settled just prior to the final hearing at the High Court. The settlement has changed the life of the child and family who can now look forward to a better future. Settlement: £2.1 million

A case involving brain damage to an adult which occurred as a result of anaesthetic negligence. The client in this case had gone in for ECT treatment but unfortunately through the course of that treatment and as a result of him vomiting and then ingesting the contents, his windpipe became blocked and he suffered brain damage as a result of this. The defendant eventually put forward offers to settle, starting at £100,000. This led to negotiations and to the settlement as below. The settlement facilitated purchase of new accommodation which was adapted to the client?s needs, as well as provision of future care. It is thought to be the largest settlement arising from ECT treatment in this country. Settlement: £500,000.

A case involving a hip replacement that went wrong on a man of 60 years. As a result of the hip replacement, the surgeon caused the prosthesis to fracture the femur which allowed a pocket of infection to develop. This caused the Claimant to require significant revision surgery and then for the full removal of the hip whilst the infection was cleared. As a result of his injuries he was ill health retired from his long standing employment. The matter proceeded against the individual's surgeon because the treatment was private. At the final hearing the Defendant fully conceded liability and causation and the case settled with a payment reflecting his pain and suffering, his loss of earnings and also the need for him to move to single storey accommodation. Interestingly in this case the Defendant had offered £235,000 in settlement but at the final hearing the case settled without any evidence being given with the Defendant increasing up to £435,000 in settlement which was acceptable to the Claimant. Settlement: £435,000

A claim on behalf of a student. He had broken his leg whilst playing football and developed a compartment syndrome when he attended at the hospital which meant that his leg would not function to an acceptable level and this caused him to have around 40 operations (so far) to his leg. A clinical negligence claim was brought against the NHS Trust who were alleged to be negligent and in addition to the damages for the personal injuries and significant loss of amenity, substantial vulnerability damages were also paid by the defendant. Settlement: £250,000.

A medical negligence case against an NHS Trust in which a patient had an operation where his full stomach was removed (gastrectomy). He had been told that he was suffering from cancer when in fact, after biopsies were carried out, it was revealed that he was not suffering from cancer, he was suffering from a peptic ulcer. The Trust fought the case, literally up to the door of the court before conceding negligence and agreeing the settlement which included damages for the stomach removal and the lifetime effects of that as well as damages for lost earnings and other expenses. Settlement: £135,000.

A case involving a lady who had treatment at hospital over a number of years from her teens due to troublesome teeth. The problem related to her molars and the Orthodontic Consultant tried with using braces to descend the teeth in to alignment. Unfortunately the treatment did not work and led to the wearing of various braces over a number of years. By the time we were instructed the lady was at the end of her tether. Expert evidence was obtained that caused the ongoing Orthodontic treatment to be abandoned, 2 teeth removed and implants to be inserted. This gave the client her confidence back. The Hospital Solicitors settled the case on the basis of paying for the implant treatment, (at a cost of around £8,000) as well as paying general damages for the pain and embarrassment of £17,000. Settlement: £25,000.

A settlement was agreed in the case of a woman who had a knee replacement operation. After the operation had been carried out she complained that she was suffering from a foot drop. Her complaints were not heeded by the hospital staff and the opportunity to operate again to repair the nerve damage was lost. The Defendant hospital, through the NHS Litigation Authority, denied liability for a long time. Eventually liability was conceded not on the basis that the operation had been carried out negligently but that they should have re-operated and this could have potentially repaired the nerve damage. After negotiations a settlement was agreed in the case in the sum of £18,000 reflecting mainly General Damages for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity. There were no loss of earnings because the woman was already retired from work. Settlement: £18,000

A case involving a woman who had a full hysterectomy carried out. After the hysterectomy she had ongoing internal pain and discomfort. It was some months later that on full examination one of the drains used in the course of the operation was found to be inside her. The drain was removed and the pain and discomfort was then gone. A settlement was agreed on the basis that it was negligent to leave the drain inside and not to carry out the necessary checks after the hysterectomy to ensure that everything had been removed. Settlement: £3,500

This case involved a client who, in the course of the birth of her first child, had an epidural (for pain relief) that pierced the dura in the spine and led to leakage of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). This was a recognised complication of the epidural but the mistake was made by the hospital staff failing to recognise that the client?s ongoing headaches were as a result of the leakage and to carry out blood patching. The mistake was compounded by the community midwives failing to refer her back to the Hospital to get it sorted out. It was only about a month later that the client was referred back to the hospital and the patching carried out to relieve the headaches. This allowed the client to start to enjoy tending to her new arrival. Settlement: £2,000