Case studies

Our clinical negligence specialists settled a claim against the Secretary of State for Health relating to treatment provided by the former Surrey Primary Care Trust (PCT) for an eye injury.

We settled a claim against Portsmouth Hospital NHS Trust for the neonatal death caused by an incorrect placement of a neonatal long line which penetrated the right atrium causing cardiac tamponade.

We have secured an admission of liability from North Middlesex Hospital that it failed to properly assess a patient on two occasions. This led to a delay in diagnosis of Cauda Equina Syndrome, a condition involving spinal discs compressing sensitive nerves that can cause permanent damage if not swiftly treated by surgery.

We settled a claim against Whittington Hospital NHS Trust for an alleged negligent failure to diagnose an undisplaced fracture of the radius. Our client injured his right arm after falling onto his outstretched hand and attended A&E at Whittington Hospital. The A&E clinician treating him requested an X-ray of the right arm and the claimant was subsequently diagnosed with a right forearm sprain. He was discharged without any follow up. His arm did not improve and he subsequently re-attended A&E several weeks later with ongoing pain and restricted movement. Upon further examination and another X-ray, the presence of a displaced radial fracture was noted and he required major surgery to re position and stabilise the fracture.

Our client was 18 years old when she first saw her GP in 2009 with problems with her right arm circulation and pain in her right shoulder. She was diagnosed with Raynaud’s phenomenon, a common condition that affects the blood supply to some parts of the body. She was referred for an X-ray that confirmed the presence of a cervical rib together with thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition caused by nerves and blood vessels becoming compressed by a lack of space between the base of the neck and the armpit.

The standard of care our client received during her last trimester made her pregnancy and labour extremely stressful. During her pregnancy, our client was concerned that she felt so ill with breathlessness, fatigue, swollen feet and ankles that she feared for her own health and that of her unborn baby. She consequently suffered psychological stress and anxiety, compounded by the erroneous belief that her symptoms were purely the result of panic attacks and her psychological state.

A 54-year-old woman has received £3,500 for the injuries she sustained as a result of negligent IPL (intense pulsed light) hair removal treatment in August 2012. She suffered mild superficial burns to her arms, with peeling and dyspigmentation, which resolved within three to four months. The burns were initially very painful and obvious and affected the claimant’s confidence. She required personal and domestic assistance for two weeks and was unable to fully enjoy a holiday following the accident as her arms had to be constantly shielded from the sun.

We were retained by a 25 year old woman who worked for a UK based airline. While on a stopover in Miami, she visited a beautician for eyelash extensions.

We settled a claim against a GP in Surrey for the failure to appropriately diagnose an Achilles tendon rupture, and for the failure to refer the claimant for urgent treatment.

We settled a claim against Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust for a client whose elderly husband fractured his humerus following a fall from a hospital bed at East Surrey Hospital. Her husband later died, although his death was caused by his underlying medical condition rather than the fall itself.

Our client consulted a private dermatologist at Amersham Clinic for advice regarding pigmentation she had developed on her forehead and cheeks. She was told that she had melasma and treatment with the Ruby laser was recommended.

Our client was born with a unilateral cleft of the lip and palate and had undergone surgery on a number of occasions. In 2011 she was advised that she needed just two more surgical procedures before things were finally corrected.