29 March 2010
Clinical negligence solicitor, Maria Panteli, has successfully settled a claim for damages for a client for a substantial six figure sum against a London hospital Trust.
On 7 June 2006, our client’s late husband became unwell at work and was taken to A&E. He reported having felt ‘hot in the head’, dizzy and faint since earlier that morning. He vomited twice and complained of a right temporal headache. His blood pressure was taken and was extremely high. His Glasgow Coma Scale, a measure of alertness, was 15/15, the highest score.
A while later, it was noted that he was moving all limbs equally and independently, was very sleepy and that his pupils were slow to react. It was also noted that he required help when walking to keep himself upright and continued to complain of a headache. His blood pressure was 199 systolic. He was discharged home with the diagnosis of vasovagal syncope (fainting episode).
His condition deteriorated further during the taxi journey and subsequently at home. His wife called an ambulance as she was concerned about the deterioration in his condition, his increased drowsiness and difficulty with standing. He was taken to Hemel Hempstead Hospital and his condition deteriorated further. He required intubation and mechanical ventilation. He underwent a CT scan which confirmed he had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage as a result of the rupture of a cerebral artery aneurysm.
His condition deteriorated further with loss of his brain stem reflexes. Sadly he was pronounced brain stem dead at 1630 hours on 8 June 2006.
An investigation was carried out by the Trust which was critical of the care he had received. An admission of unreserved liability was made that the treatment provided fell short of what he was entitled to expect and that, on the balance of probabilities, it caused his death.
In the light of the Trust’s admission on liability, we proceeded to value the claim and to put forward an offer to settle. A settlement was reached following negotiations, which included an apology from the Trust for the distress that this caused our client and her family and an assurance that the Trust has learned lessons from his incident reducing the possibility of this type of incident happening again.
For more information, please contact Maria Panteli on 020 7650 1200.
Information was correct at time of publishing. See terms and conditions for further details.
Information was correct at time of publishing. See terms and conditions for further details.