Case Study: Archive

Mr B

Mr B was assaulted by two assailants.  He suffered an injury to his right eye.  He was admitted to the A & E Department of a local hospital where he was reviewed by a locum who prescribed eye drops advising him to return after the weekend.

Mr B in fact had suffered a very serious eye injury which required immediate treatment with antibiotics.  Over the course of two days his eyesight deteriorated and by the time he returned to hospital as instructed the doctors were too late to save his vision.  Mr B was already blind in one eye and therefore suffered total loss of vision as a result of the negligence.  With the help of a medical expert in the field of Ophthalmology and Rehabilitation we successfully settled Mr B’s claim for £575,000 one month before trial

Mrs W

Mrs W underwent a cervical smear test in 1999 at a private hospital only to discover that she had advanced cervical cancer three years later.  A review of the cervical smear test revealed that it had not been reported properly.  If it had, Mrs W would have undergone a very simple procedure which would have prevented the cancer from developing.  Instead, she underwent a radical hysterectomy including lower lymph node removal.  In addition to the very harrowing time of being diagnosed with cancer and significant operation, she developed lower limb swelling as a result of the lymph node removal.  Whilst the Defendant admitted negligence at a relatively early stage, they chose to argue over the effects of the surgery.  Following exchange of expert evidence Mrs W accepted £350,000 in settlement of her claim, six months before trial.

Mr C

Mr C aged 69 at the date of the negligence received £75,000 in compensation following the mismanagement of a leg ulcer by Practice Nurses employed by his General Practitioner.  The leg ulcers became infected and the infection spread to his artificial knee joint which required removal.  The case settled two months before it was due to go to trial almost two years after formal Court proceedings were started.