Tiverton Woman Wins Clinical Negligence Claim Against North Devon District Hospital

Devon medical negligence solicitor Sam Robson reports on a notable victory for her client

A young woman has won a substantial six figure award of compensation following her legal battle against North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) as a consequence its failure to diagnose a serious neurological condition. 

Our client attended the A & E department in Barnstaple complaining of unbearable back pains, but was sent away with only a prescription for painkilling medication.  Despite going back to the North Devon District Hospital on several other occasions, senior clinicians failed to take her symptoms seriously; even when concerns were raised by a more junior doctor at the hospital who suspected that she needed urgent treatment. 

It was not until her own doctor insisted that the hospital treat her that she was eventually referred for an MRI scan.  The hospital arranged for an `urgent’ scan some two weeks later.  They then took a further five days to send the results to her own doctor, but by then she had already suffered compression of a nerve root in her back and what is termed medically as complete Cauda Equina Syndrome.

Very sadly the claimant has been left with permanent neurological damage which has caused severe back ache, constant shooting pains in her leg and foot, and significant bowel and bladder problems.  It is unlikely that she will be able to manage anything other than sedentary work in the future and she is now permanently disabled.  If the North Devon District Hospital had taken her initial symptoms more seriously, the outcome would probably have been very different.  The pressure on her disc could have been relieved by immediate surgery and she is unlikely to have suffered permanent damage to her nerve root.  The prospect of further surgical intervention to improve her symptoms and quality of life is very limited and she has already undergone spinal cord stimulation with little sign of improvement.

If you, or anyone you know, requires specialist advice on clinical negligence compensation claims, then contact specialist medical negligence solicitor, Sam Robson. Sam is based at our Exeter office where she leads our clinical negligence team. We deal with medical negligence claims on a No Win, No Fee basis and Sam is always happy to talk over new cases on a free, no obligation basis.  She can contacted by email at sam.robson@sleeblackwell.co.uk or on our freephone number 0808 139 1606