Please click on the titles to read the following case reports:
B –v- King’s College Hospitals NHS Trust
B v Pennine Care NHS Trust & Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
G v Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust
Mrs W (on her own behalf and as administratrix of the estate of Mr W deceased) and MW (by her mother and litigation friend Mrs W) and SW (by her mother and litigation friend Mrs W)–v- Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
M (Dec'd) - v - NG NHS Trust
C v Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust (2004)
M - v - The Home Office
Martyn John Pavier (Widower & Executor of the estate of Kay Madeline Pavier (Deceased)) v United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust (2004)
B –v- King’s College Hospitals NHS Trust
Mr B started suffering chest pains. He had a family history of early death from cardiac arrest and was referred by his GP to his local hospital for ECG testing. The hospital failed to correctly report Mr B’s ECG and advised that his heart was clear. Consequently despite further episodes of chest pains Mr B was instead treated for indigestion/gastric problems. Later that same year Mr B collapsed and died of a cardiac arrest
Mrs B, his widow, brought a claim under the Fatal Accidents Act and Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act for loss of dependency and other losses arising from the death of her husband. The claim was that if the hospital had properly interpreted the ECG Mr B would have had an angiogram that would have revealed the true nature of the problem and would then have had either angioplasty (insertion of a balloon into the affected cardiac arteries to widen them and a stent to help keep the arteries open) or a cardiac bypass. In turn this would have prevented his death.
This case was handled by Richard Coleman and the claim settled for £100,000 after issue of Court proceedings.
Liability was contested throughout, especially on causation. The hospital maintained that, at best, he would only have been put on routine waiting lists for angiography and then angioplasty and would not have had the surgery in time in any event given national waiting time figures.
Richard was able to force disclosure of the Defendant’s own published waiting times for angiograms and angioplasties that showed they had in fact better than average waiting times and, if breach of duty was proven, causation would therefore follow.
B v Pennine Care NHS Trust & Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
The Claimant was born on 7th February 1931 and on the evening of the 18th June 2003 he was detained at the Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983. The Claimant fought his case against both Defendants as it was unclear as to which Defendant was vicariously liable for which staff at the hospital. The Claimant believed that the First Defendant was responsible for the provision of psychiatric services at the hospital but it was not known which Defendant accepted vicarious responsibility for medical decisions of Psychiatrists.
Lorazepam was administered to the Claimant at about 22:30 hours on 18th June. At some point during the night of 18th/19th June the Claimant fell from his bed and was discovered on the floor. The Claimant was examined by a Psychiatric Senior House Officer at about 14:00 hours on 19th June. Amongst other things she found the Claimant’s abdomen soft but with reduced bowel sounds.
In the early afternoon of 20th June the Claimant was examined by another Senior House Officer on call. The Claimant was complaining of pain in the left iliac fossa. The SHO noted a pulsatile mass in the abdomen and therefore attempted to speak to a surgeon. However, no surgeon was available and so a message was left at theatre.
Please click here to read the full case report
G v Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust
Negligent failure to carry out baseline vascular assessment
Failure to recognise peripheral arterial obstructive disease leading to double amputation
G went on holiday to Spain in June 2001. While he was on holiday, he contracted Legionnaire’s Disease and spent some 51 days in a coma in a Spanish hospital.
During that time, he had been neglected so that the heel of his right foot had been resting on the top of his left foot, and he had not been regularly turned or otherwise cared for with the result that when he was discharged from hospital in Spain and transferred to England, he had extensive Grade 4 ulcers (deep pressure sores) on his torso, buttocks, thighs, both lower calves and feet. Some of the ulcers were exposing bone and the right heel had dissolved into the top of the left foot.
In September 2001, G was admitted to the RUH and, on the balance of probabilities, at the time of admission he was suffering from peripheral arterial disease, a chronic condition that meant that the peripheral arteries serving his legs were compromised by narrowing and/or blockage due to atherosclerotic disease with consequent impairment of his circulation.
Despite the fact that the Claimant had a number of risk factors for peripheral arterial obstructive disease, no baseline assessment of the Claimant’s vascular system was carried out on admission.
G spent a further three months in hospital at the RUH and on discharge the ulcers affecting his back, sacrum, left elbow, and hips had healed or substantially improved, but those on his calves had not resolved, and those on his heels and the top of his left foot never healed.
Please click here to read the full case report
Mrs W (on her own behalf and as administratrix of the estate of Mr W deceased) and MW (by her mother and litigation friend Mrs W) and SW (by her mother and litigation friend Mrs W)–v- Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mr W deceased was aged 43 years as at the date of his death on 04.06.05. The First Claimant, Mrs W, was aged 38 years as at the date of the negligence and 42 years as at the date of settlement. The Second Claimant, MW, was aged 6 years as at the date of the negligence, and 11 years as at the date of settlement. The Third Claimant, SW, was aged 4 years as at the date of the negligence and 9 years as at date of settlement.
In June 2005, Mr W collapsed unexpectedly at home and lost consciousness. He was therefore taken to Cheltenham General Hospital, where various tests were carried out, one of which indicated a possible cardiac problem. Unfortunately this was not appreciated and acted upon, and therefore Mr W was discharged with a diagnosis of having suffered a faint. Within a couple of hours of discharge, Mr W suffered a second, fatal collapse at home in front of his wife and was pronounced dead.
Please click here to read the full report
Physician's Negligence:Failure to recognise prosthetic valve endocarditis leading to patient's death
Background
"M" was a retired Miner who on the 27th June 2003 underwent surgery at hospital "A" to perform a coronary artery bypass and to replace his aortic valve with a biological mitraflow valve. The surgery was appropriately covered by prophylactic antibiotics and he was discharged from hospital "A" on 13th July 2003.
On the 18th August 2004, "M" attended his GP with a cough andf breathlessness, and his GP arranged for him to be admitted to NG NHS Trust by ambulance. He remained an in-patient at NG NHS Trust until the 29th August 2003.
The SHO on admission recorded the necessity to "R/O SBE", namely to rule out sub-acute bacterial endocarditis.
Please click here to view the full case report.
C v Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust (2004)
Out of Court Settlement 26/3/2004
The claimant, a widow, received £15,000 for the death of her husband following the failure to diagnose diabetes in July 2001. The deceased suffered a cardiac arrest and died following an operation for the amputation of his fifth toe on his left foot. The claimant brought a claim on behalf of the deceased's estate.
Peter Skelton instructed by Withy King (Bath) solicitors for the claimant. NHS Litigation Authority for the defendant.
This Quantum Report was provided courtesy of Simon Elliman of Withy King, solicitor for the claimant.
Click here for more details
M –V- The Home Office
M, a prisoner serving a life sentence, had previously suffered from vascular disease affecting his lower limbs as a result of which he underwent surgery.
M began to develop further symptoms of vascular disease affecting his lower limbs from April 1999 onwards. Unfortunately, despite those clear signs, M was not referred to a vascular surgeon until December 2000, and was not reviewed by a doctor until mid February 2001. By this time, M had developed a rotting ulcer on his left foot and therefore lost the two outside toes on that foot.
M received the sum of £16,000 for his pain, suffering and affects upon his everyday life.
This case was handled by Paul Rumley, an Associate Solicitor and member of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel, based in our Swindon office.
Martyn John Pavier (widower & executor of the estate of Kay Madeline Pavier (deceased)) v United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust (2004)
The claimant, a widower, received £163,500 for the death of his wife following the failure to maintain continuous oxygen therapy in March 1999. The deceased suffered a cardiac arrest whilst in hospital which resulted in catastrophic brain damage. The deceased was subsequently diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state and a court order was obtained which allowed her to die in January 2001.
Claimant: Male: 38 years old at date of accident; 43 years old at date of settlement.
The claimant was the husband of the deceased (P). P died on 28 January 2001, aged 39.
Clinical Negligence: On 30 March 1999, P was admitted to the defendant hospital suffering from pneumonia.
Click here for more details
