Hudgell Solicitors has secured £240,000 damages for a 66-year-old client after doctors failed to treat her bleeding following a hip replacement.
The woman had hip replacement surgery in March 2017 having been referred by her NHS GP.
Two weeks later she was rushed to hospital as she was unable to walk and was suffering from pain in her right hip, numbness in her right thigh and tingling in her right foot.
With x-rays showing no injury, she was transferred back to the centre where she had the surgery, by which time she was in so much pain that she needed gas and air for pain relief.
Doctors identified bleeding at the site of the surgery and decided to adopt a “wait and watch “policy”, also prescribing blood thinning medication.
As part of a medical negligence legal case, the NHS treatment centre admitted there was a negligent delay in undertaking surgery to remove the bleeding, with surgery not taking place until two days after readmission to hospital.
They also admitted that prescribing blood thinning medication in the presence of bleeding was also negligent.
Negligence has had huge impact on quality of life
Our client who was previously independent, was left dependent on a mobility scooter and crutches to get around, causing her to give up her job. She was left suffering from numbness, pain, discolouration, swelling and scarring to her right lower limb.
Such has been the impact on her life she was left in need of aids and appliances around her home.
Solicitor Elizabeth Maliakal, of the medical negligence claims team at Hudgell Solicitors, brought the case on our client’s behalf, and reached the £240,000 damages settlement out of court.
She said: “There were fundamental mistakes made in this case with regards to my client’s treatment.
“Prescribing this blood thinning medication in the presence of a haematoma was negligent as it was known, or ought to have been known, that such medication would only increase the size of the haematoma.
“Also, it should have been immediately apparent given my client’s symptoms, that surgery should have been carried out quickly. To leave her waiting two days was undoubtedly below the expected level of care.
“This hip replacement operation was meant to give my client a new lease of life and improve her mobility, but it has made her quality of life significantly worse, to the point where she had to give up her job and she needs help and assistance at home.
“We are pleased that the solicitors for NHS treatment centre made early admissions of liability, which paved the way for this settlement without the need to go to court.
“We obtained several experts’ reports to help us work out the value of our client’s claim and the settlement agreed has covered the costs of adaptations required to my client’s home, to cover her loss of earnings until her expected retirement and also expected future care needs.”
“Succeeding in claims is always a team effort and we are delighted that our client is now able to plan her future and use the compensation to help her lead a comfortable life.”
What Is Medical Negligence?
Medical negligence is when medical professionals make mistakes or fail in their duty of care to you, leading to injury or making an existing condition worse.
If you or a loved one has suffered ill-treatment or poor care you may be eligible to claim hospital negligence compensation – helping to cover the cost of ongoing care, remedial treatment, and loss of earnings.
Our experienced hospital negligence lawyers hold hospital trusts to account for failings in patient care, securing maximum compensation for those that are let down by their healthcare practitioner when receiving treatment for illness or injury in hospital.
If you’ve been the victim of hospital negligence or have seen a loved one suffer and wish to make an NHS negligence claim, our expert medical negligence solicitors are here for you. For a free consultation about your claim, get in touch today.
