Woman Died After Doctors Failed to Spot an Abscess in Time

A hospital, currently under investigation after the deaths of two women who died shortly after giving birth, admitted liability for the death of a 69 year old woman from an abscess which was not treated until it was too late and has paid out over £100,000 in compensation to her family.

Valerie Hagon from Dagenham in Essex was admitted to Queen’s Hospital in Romford on 8th March 2007 in a serious condition having lost nearly two stone in weight and vomiting up to 5 times a day. Mrs Hagon had been complaining of severe pain in her back extending to her left hip for nearly six months, however, visits to her GP and two visits to the same Accident & Emergency including the week before, had failed to correctly diagnose her condition.

Following urgent referral by her GP on 8 March 2007 Mrs Hagon went by taxi to the A&E department at the Queen’s hospital only to be told to join the queue by the Triage nurse, despite being in severe pain. After waiting to see a doctor for 5 hours she was finally assessed by a junior doctor. Amongst the potential diagnoses of her condition, the doctor correctly diagnosed a psoas abscess and she was admitted to a general ward.

Mrs Hagon had to wait two days (10 March 2007) for a scan which looked only at her abdomen as the initial correct diagnosis by the junior doctor was dismissed and the pain in her hip attributed to orthopaedic causes. The results of the 10 March 2007 scan were not received until 13 March 2007. The scan was reported as showing no abnormality. The Hospital’s own report into Mrs Hagon’s death found that the abscess that would eventually lead to her death was, however, detectable on the scan.

Mrs Hagon’s condition deteriorated, she became virtually bed-bound due to the pain in her left hip. She also developed an abscess on her hip, which was initially missed. It wasn’t until the 16th March 2007 that Mrs Hagon had a scan of her hip but the results were not known until the 27th March 2007 when the abscess was finally diagnosed. On 28th March 2007 the abscess was operated on and Mrs Hagon put onto antibiotics. Subsequently, Mrs Hagon had to have multiple operations to drain the abscess.

Mrs Hagon’s condition never significantly improved and the sepsis caused by the abscess led to multi organ failure. Mrs Hagon died on 29th April 2007 having not left the hospital since admission.

Mrs Hagon’s partner, Ron Baker, now 71, had lived with Mrs Hagon for the preceding 10 years and was enjoying an extremely active and enjoyable retirement with Mrs Hagon before her death.

Mr Baker said: “When Val went into hospital I was still concerned but part of me was relieved, I thought she would be diagnosed and treated quickly whatever was the cause of her distress.

“What is most upsetting is the fact that she continued to suffer in the place where she should have been able to seek relief from her symptoms, not to be cast aside and forgotten as I believe she was.”

Sanja Strkljevic, the solicitor who represented Mr Baker and the representatives of Mrs Hagon’s estate said: “Quite simply Mrs Hagon should not have died. Had the initial potential diagnosis of a psoas abscess been followed up and the first scan correctly reported it is likely that the abscess would have been diagnosed, and with appropriate treatment, Mrs Hagon would have made a good recovery. She would not have endured weeks of pain and discomfort, which were not only distressing for her but also for her family. She would be here today, enjoying her retirement with Ron and their families”