Case studies

Our client suffered congenital abnormalities as a result of which he had to undergo extensive surgery shortly following his birth. The surgery itself proceeded smoothly, but after his discharge our client developed necrotising entercolitis for which he had to be readmitted.

The claimant in this case had undergone laparoscopic surgery to terminate an ectopic pregnancy at an NHS hospital. She was told that the procedure had been fully successful but continued to feel unwell. On the second day after surgery, she went back to the hospital for tests which confirmed that she was still pregnant. She was informed that she needed a further procedure, but the hospital could not guarantee the operation would be carried out that day or who the surgeon would be.

We are advising on behalf of a minor who underwent an operation to remove her appendix and who was discharged from hospital the following day, notwithstanding concerns her mother expressed that our client had a high temperature and was feverish.

We have recently issued proceedings on behalf of a client who is bringing a medical negligence claim relating to the management of her care in the period following surgery, when her arm was allowed to become trapped between the rail of her bed and her mattress. At the time, she suffered from significant bruising, grazing and a haematoma, and since this date she has experienced debilitating pain in her arm.

We have successfully acted on behalf of a woman who fell down a flight of steps in front of a timeshare apartment in Florida.

We are pursuing this claim, in which liability is now admitted in full, on behalf of our client who was born a month before her due date. The labour was mismanaged and problems with slow heart rate were not acted on quickly enough.

Our client, K, underwent a caesarean section following complications during labour. Prior to the caesarean section, the defendant negligently failed to undertake a further examination that would have shown that a straightforward instrumental delivery would be possible.

We are currently investigating the circumstances in which a first time mother had an extremely difficult pregnancy, becoming very large and quite unwell in her last trimester. She experienced difficulty breathing, reduced mobility as a result of swelling in her legs and feet, and a huge amount of stress. She had shared care from her GP, her midwife and her consultant and all three simply reassured her that she was having a large baby and she should try not to worry.

Our client from Torbay twisted his knee on an Italian skiing holiday. He sought local medical advice and was told that he had almost certainly damaged his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). He was advised to allow ten days for the knee to settle before having an MRI scan to assess the extent of the damage.

Our medical negligence solicitors recovered damages of £400,000 for a client who developed compartment syndrome in hospital following a fall and a leg fracture.

We are pursuing a claim arising from a consultant ophthalmologist's failure to recognise signs of wet age-related macular degeneration and to advise our client on the treatment options available.

Ectopic pregnancy presents very particular and potentially life-threatening risks to the expectant mother. Penningtons has acted in a number of cases of delayed diagnosis of ectopic pregnancies.