Delay in diagnosis - £500,000 settlement
Stephensons acted for a 31-year-old woman who lost sensation in the lower half of her body after a delay in the diagnosis of a slipped disc. The client had originally attended hospital suffering from back pain, with symptoms recorded as numbness and pain along with difficulty in passing water. A doctor examined our client without touching her, and on the basis of an x-ray stated that she still had bladder control she could be discharged.
By the following day she had lost bladder control and was in significant pain, she attended a different hospital and after neurological examinations and x-rays a slipped disc was diagnosed. She then underwent emergency surgery but was subsequently diagnosed as suffering from chronic corda equina syndrome. We were able to achieve a settlement of £500,000 for our client.
Delay in diagnosis - £100,000 settlement
Our client received £100,000 on behalf of the estate of her partner following a delay in diagnosis of a cerebral hamorrhage. The man was taken ill whislt varnishing his kitchen floor, suffering severe head pain, he became diorientated, was sweating profusely and vomited. He took himself to bed but the following day he was still suffering from severe headache and neck pain, at this point he requested a home visit from a doctor. The doctor advised him that he was suffering from a viral infection and to drink plenty of water and take ibuprofen.
Due to no improvement in the man's condition his partner requested another home visit, a colleague of the previous doctor attended and immediately suspected the man had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and arranged for him to be urgently admitted to hospital. Once at hospital an angiogram confirmed the man had suffered a large aneurysm, surgery was planned but before it could take place the man's condition deteriorated and he passed away. Our client brought action alleging that the doctor was negligent in failing to diagnose the brain haemorrhage and admit the man to hospital, maintaining that but for the delay surgery would have been able to take place prior to man's deterioration in condition.
Failure to identify - £400,000 settlement
Our client came to us after the death of his wife following a hospital's failure to identify a deteriorating heart condition during pregnancy. Our client's wife had a history of heart problems and had undergone corrective surgery at the age of nine, she had also suffered a haemorrhage whilst giving birth to her first child four years prior to her death.
Our client brought action on the basis that the hospital had failed to identify material changes in the echo-cardiogram readings, and as a consequence did not advise on the available options and complications which could arise if she was to become pregnant. We were able to achieve a settlemment of £400,000 for our client.
Misdiagnosis - £46,500
We were able to win an out of court settlement of £46,500 following the misdiagnosis of meningitis for a 10 month old baby.
The child was just 10 months old when he died, he had been suffering with sickness, diarrhoea, poor appetite and a high temperature for 3-4 days. This was diagnosed by their GP as a throat infection and gastroenteritis.
A second opinion was sought from another GP who voiced concerns and sent the child directly to hospital, identifying his suspicion of meningitis. An external examination only was conducted at the hospital, which concluded that the child was indeed suffering from gastroenteritis and was prescribed ibuprofen and dioralyte and discharged.
During the course of the next morning purple patches and bright red pin pricks on the underside of the child's legs became apparent, he died 14 hours later.
His parents were devastated by the loss of their child and suffered psychologically (over and above what they would be expected to suffer due to the loss of a child) due to the failure to diagnose and treat the illness.
Birth injury - £65,000 settlement
We were able to obtain a settlement of £65,000 for an eight year old girl after a failure to diagnose and treat paronychia following her birth led to the development of a condition called osteomyelitis, which caused a varus deformity and shortening of the left leg.
As a result of the failure to diagnose and treat the condition when she was born the girl's left leg went on to develop 2cm shorter than her right which in turn led her to walk with a limp and would ultimately require corrective surgery.
Surgical error - £6,750 settlement
Our client underwent surgery on an abdominal injury, following the operation she experienced a slight complication and as a result a drain was inserted. Three days later the drain was removed, however our client was still suffering from severe pain, after a month she underwent a full body scan the results of which revealed that a piece of drain around 18 inches long had been left inside her abdomin.
Due to the negligence in failing to remove the drain at the first attempt she had to undergo further unnecessary surgery and experienced severe pain in the mean time, we were able to secure a £6,750 settlement for our client.
Cosmetic surgery negligence - £19,500
We were able to achieve a settlement of £19,500 after a breast enlargement operation left our client with a severe burn, which went on to cause infection. Further surgery was required not only to eliminate the infection but also rectify the problems the infection caused.
As a result of the burn and subsequent negligent treatment our client has been permanently scarred and had to undergo further unnecessary surgery.
