We have recently succeeded in a medical negligence claim for an A&E mistake. Here is a brief case summary.
Our medical negligence team has recently represented a woman in a successful claim against Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Trust.
The woman had previously had a successful operation on her shoulder and was undergoing physiotherapy at the hospital to help her recover. She was under instructions from her surgeon and therapist to take care when using her arm so as to avoid any further injury whilst her shoulder healed.
Following a bout of leg pain, she was admitted to the Accident and Emergency Department. During the medical examination in A&E she explained to the medical staff that they needed to be careful with her shoulder as she was recovering from surgery. In what appears to have been a misunderstanding on the hospital’s part her shoulder was manipulated during the examination. This caused her a great deal of pain and immediately restricted the movement of her shoulder.
Following an ultrasound scan it was confirmed that the patient had suffered a full thickness tear of the tendon in her shoulder. Repair surgery failed, and she went on to have a full shoulder replacement.
Our clinical negligence team agreed to represent the woman on a No Win No Fee basis and cover all her related expenses, including court fees and the cost of expert reports. We carried out a detailed review of her medical records and arranged for a Consultant Orthopaedic surgeon to prepare a medical report.
We then presented the compensation claim to the hospital on the basis that the injury and subsequent shoulder replacement was caused by the negligent manipulation of the woman’s shoulder by hospital staff during the examination in A&E. This resulted in the NHS Trust admitting legal liability.
We prepared a schedule of all the costs and expenses our client had incurred as a result of her medical problems stemming from the hospital’s mistake. The NHS made an offer of compensation that included these losses, along with compensation for the woman’s ‘pain and suffering’. Although the initial offer was rejected we went on to reach an out of court settlement of £30,000, plus legal costs.
