Case studies

• Settlement for death following avoidable hospital fall
  This case involved a claim against The Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for a client whose husband died following a fall in hospital.
• Claim against South London Healthcare NHS Trust for death following a hospital fall
  We recently settled a claim arising out of the death of an elderly lady as a result of a head injury sustained due to an avoidable hospital fall.
• Brain injury caused by ambulance crew
  We were approached by the family of Mr Thomas who died aged 81 in July 2009. He was attended at home in Esher, Surrey, by an ambulance crew to take him to hospital. Whilst being transferred to the ambulance, Mr Thomas was physically dropped and struck his head on a step.
• Fatal delay in diagnosing renal cancer
  We are pursuing in the High Court a claim arising from a missed diagnosis of renal cancer. Our client has tragically died as a result and we now pursue the claim on behalf of his widow and estate.
• Delay in excising basal cell carcinoma
  Our client had known Atypical Mole Syndrome (AMS) phenotype and was recognised as being prone to skin cancer. She attended her specialist with a basal cell carcinoma on her nose that was wrongly diagnosed as actinic keratosis and was discharged.
• Failure to resuscitate and to operate properly
  In this case, an elderly patient in hospital with a known bowel obstruction collapsed.
• Fatal delay in diagnosing ovarian cancer
  We have recently settled a case in which the NHS Litigation Authority accepted that our client had a high prospect of being cured had she been treated properly. Instead, at the age of 42, she tragically died when a malignant ovarian cyst was not diagnosed for over eight months.
• Claim settled against two GPs following failure to consider a longstanding diabetes diagnosis during telephone consultations, leading to diabetic ketoacidosis
  We have recently achieved a settlement for our client, whose husband sadly passed away as a result of severe diabetic ketoacidosis.
• Estate of deceased 43 year old awarded six figure settlement for failure to administer thrombolysis for pulmonary emboli
  A 43 year old woman suffered a catastrophic brain injury after an NHS trust failed to administer life-saving treatment while she was admitted under their care.
• Failures to act on test results
  We have acted in a number of cases where administrative errors and oversights have resulted in delays in diagnosing and treating patients, some with tragic consequences.
• Settlement of fatal claim from cholesteatoma arising out of failure of ENT team to investigate
  We settled a claim against Medway NHS Foundation Trust relating to the death of a 30 year old man from an undiagnosed cholesteatoma, a bag of dead tissue in the ear which if left untreated rots away the ear and the linings of the brain.
• Fatal colorectal cancer
  Our client's wife attended her GP for nearly three years complaining of bowel problems. The GP failed to consider colorectal cancer as a potential diagnosis.
• Fatal surgical error in gall bladder removal
  Our client's wife died following surgery to remove her gall bladder in which the operating surgeon failed properly to identify her anatomy.
• Scalding injury to patient left unattended in hospital
  We acted for the estate of an elderly gentleman who suffered severe scalding injuries after falling whilst left unattended in the bathroom at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester, in January 2011.
• Claim for patient’s death following delay in diagnosis and management of infection
  We settled a claim against Barking, Havering & Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust on behalf of the daughter of a man from Ilford who died following a delay in recognising and treating his serious infection.
• Settlement for bereaved family following hospital’s failure to administer critical medication
  Our clinical negligence team has settled a claim on behalf of the estate of a woman who died following the negligent failure to provide critical and life-saving treatment during an admission to Bedford Hospital.

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