£15,000 Medical Negligence Compensation Victory19th Feb 2016
Coles Miller has won a £15,000 legal victory on behalf of a 69-year-old hospital patient who said he suffered three years of pain and reduced shoulder movement following alleged medical negligence.
The patient from Grays, Essex needed surgery on his right shoulder following a fall at his home, it is alleged.
He was taken to hospital but then took legal action, alleging failings by four different clinicians including:
- failure to arrange an urgent MRI scan
- failure to treat the patient as an urgent case
- failure to discuss the option of surgical repair with the patient.
The patient said he suffered three years of pain and grossly diminished function in his right shoulder because of the hospital’s failures – and that he already had no active movement in his left shoulder, having contracted polio at an early age.
The man has since died following a brain haemorrhage unrelated to his claim.
His son, who lives in Habrough, Lincolnshire, maintained the claim against Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on behalf of his father’s estate and accepted a settlement of £15,000.
The case was handled by Coles Miller Partner David Simpson, who leads the firm’s Clinical Negligence Department.
Mr Simpson said: “But for the hospital’s negligence, our client would have had an MRI scan within weeks of his fall and surgery should have been performed a week or so after that.”
Repair surgery was eventually carried out just under seven months after the fall and it was unsuccessful, added Mr Simpson.
“With the correct surgery, he would have recovered to the medical condition he was in before his fall,” he said.
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has denied the claim in its entirety, citing the claimant’s pre-existing medical problems.
The trust denied the need for an urgent MRI scan and denied the allegations of negligence, saying that conservative treatment was appropriate in the circumstances. It also denied that earlier surgical repair would have produced a different outcome.
In October 2015 Coles Miller was named in the Legal 500 guide to Britain’s top lawyers for its expertise in clinical negligence and personal injury cases.
Coles Miller is one of only two Dorset law firms listed in the Legal 500 for its specialist expertise in clinical negligence claimant cases.
For further information, please contact Coles Miller Partner David Simpson, 01202 355695.
This document is not intended to constitute and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice on any specific matter. No liability for the accuracy of the content of this document, or the consequences of relying on it, is assumed by the author. If you seek further information, please contact Managing Partner Neil Andrews at Coles Miller Solicitors LLP.
