Debbie Milne | Partner and Solicitor Advocate

Compensation Awarded for Clinical Negligence

The standard of care provided by the NHS to patients and their families is generally very good, however there are unfortunately occasions when this standard can fall, causing untold injury and distress. When this happens, it is only right that patients are compensated for the suffering they have endured.

Complications Following Surgery

In one case recently reported by the BBC, a young boy died after suffering complications following heart surgery. His family have now been awarded compensation amounting to £100,000.

Luke Jenkins was only seven when he attended Bristol Children’s Hospital for surgery to correct a congenital heart defect. Following the operation he developed a bleed on the chest and underwent further surgery, after which he was returned to a normal ward rather than intensive care. His family had incorrectly been told that he was in a high dependency ward.

Luke’s condition continued to deteriorate, but this was not picked up by medical staff and he died of a cardiac arrest a few days later.

Official reviews of the case did not find any direct links between Luke’s death and failings by the hospital, however the NHS Ombudsman did say that there had been “missed opportunities” in the care provided. University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust itself admitted there had been failings and apologised to Luke’s family.

Death Following Misdiagnosis

In a second, equally tragic case, a man died at the age of 47 after problems with his heart were attributed to acid reflux by medical staff, the BBC reports.

Andrew Jones came from a family with a history of heart problems, and he himself had suffered from high blood pressure and chest pain since 2002 and had been diagnosed as possibly having an enlarged heart.

He underwent tests at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend in July 2011, and returned on a number of occasions for outpatient appointments. However, although medical staff noted irregularities, these were put down to acid reflux rather than actual heart-related problems.

Mr Jones collapsed in March 2012 and died a day later.

Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board did not admit liability for Mr Jones’s death, but has agreed a financial settlement for his family. The exact amount of compensation is not known, but is thought to amount to six figures.

Treatment Delays Led to Brain Damage

In a third case, a 12-year-old girl has been awarded compensation amounting to £2.5 million after failings by medical staff led to her suffering severe brain damage shortly after her birth.

She was born in Warrington Hospital and there were no issues with her actual birth, but her health deteriorated a few days later, reports Runcorn and Widness World. This was not diagnosed in time and as a result there were delays in her treatment that led to the brain damage occurring. She now requires extensive, ongoing care.

Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has apologised to the family and said it would learn from what happened to help prevent similar failings happening again in the future.

Contact Us

Our personal injury lawyers have many years of experience helping people deal with the challenges that can result from clinical negligence. We offer a free consultation to let you know about all of the options for getting compensation, care and rehabilitation as soon as possible. To arrange a free consultation, or to find out more about our no win no fee service, call us on 01412496903 or contact us online.

Debbie Milne

Debbie Milne

Personal Injury Team

“The best part of my job is achieving a result that makes the client happy. That might be getting a good result for an insurer, it might be recovering a sum in damages that makes a difference to a person’s life, it might even be simply achieving an acknowledgement that the other party was at fault.” 

Contact us Share this page

Request a free call back

Our specialist lawyers will call you back at your preferred time to discuss your situation and explain how we can help.

Request Call Back
Sending

What our clients say about us

Read more