Case studies

We recently represented a client in a claim against Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust following a delay in diagnosing her breast cancer.

We acted for a client whose ectopic pregnancy should have been diagnosed before she suffered a burst fallopian tube which required life-saving treatment. At five weeks pregnant, she experienced light bleeding and her GP found that her hCG levels had not doubled as would be expected with a healthy pregnancy. She was referred to an Early Pregnancy Unit at Wycombe Hospital and her GP raised the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy. After an ultrasound scan found no evidence of an intrauterine or extrauterine pregnancy, she was told that she had had a complete miscarriage but that there was a possibility of a pregnancy of unknown location.

We have recovered £25,000 from London Northwest Healthcare NHS Trust for the avoidable pain and suffering of our client’s late mother, Mrs B, after she developed pressure sores while under the care of the district nurses employed by Ealing Hospital NHS Trust (now London Northwest Healthcare NHS Trust).

We agreed the settlement of a claim against St Mary’s Hospital, Isle of Wight, for the alleged failure to appropriately advise our client of 'red flag' symptoms of cauda equina syndrome when she was discharged from A&E.

We have recently settled a claim against Northwick Park Hospital for the alleged failure to appropriately diagnose and treat our client’s shoulder dislocation during his A&E attendance, causing a delay in treatment and avoidable nerve damage.

We settled a claim against East Cheshire NHS Foundation Trust for the mismanagement of our client’s antenatal care and failure to detect a genetic condition, mosaic trisomy 18 (also known as Edwards' syndrome).

We are currently representing a minor in a case involving alleged failings in the diagnosis of appendicitis in April 2012. Our client was admitted to hospital over the Easter weekend, and despite the clinicians raising a suspicion of appendicitis from the outset, there were significant delays in any form of investigation.

Our clinical negligence specialists acted on behalf of a patient in relation to a failure to inform him appropriately of the options for treating his appendicitis. Our client was only offered open surgery and his treating surgeon did not explain that he had the option for laparoscopic surgery (keyhole), which is far less invasive. Open surgery carries increased risks of wound infections, herniation and adhesions.

We are acting on behalf of a client for the alleged failings in the care and treatment she received during her laparoscopic appendicectomy in July 2012. The day after her surgery, she experienced severe pain and discomfort and an emergency CT scan was performed, which revealed sepsis within the peritoneal cavity.

We advised a client on a claim for delays in the diagnosis and treatment of her appendicitis at St Helier’s Hospital in Surrey. She was admitted to the hospital with severe pain in the right iliac fossa, vomiting and a high temperature and was placed under the care of the surgical team.

We settled a claim against the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust for its failure to counsel a patient about the risks of sustaining further perineal trauma after developing a third degree anal sphincter tear during her first delivery which required surgical repair, following which she had a number of complications.

We settled a claim against Yeovil District Hospital for the mismanagement of diabetes which led to the death of an elderly lady. Her family instructed us because they were concerned that her diabetes had been poorly managed and that she would not have died if it had been appropriately managed.