Here are some examples of the experience of our lawyers in conducting actual medical negligence cases.
- A woman in her mid-50’s sustained a serious injury to her neck when she fainted during a barium enema and fell from the radiologist’s table. Her doctor denied all responsibility. Settled.
- Despite multiple attendances and requests at their local hospital, a young couple were unable to persuade medical staff to admit the wife for supervision of her labour despite the fact that her baby was some days overdue. When the woman was finally admitted, medical officers and nursing staff failed to adequately monitor baby’s heartbeat. Unfortunately, the baby was stillborn. The hospital denied liability and took no responsibility. Healthcare Complaints Commission counselled the midwives and nursing staff involved. Matter settled out of Court.
- A woman in her 50’s underwent knee replacement surgery. After the implantation of prosthetic knee, she noticed oozing and swelling from the operation site which was brought to the attention of hospital staff but she was discharged without treatment for her blossoming infections. Due to failure on the part of the hospital system to diagnose and provide timely treatment for infection, she ended up with a chronic antibiotic resistant infection in her left leg, rendering it virtually useless. Settled out of Court.
- A woman in her 40’s underwent surgery to her eye. When an IV canula was inserted it caused bleeding into the tissue of the woman’s forearm. Staff and doctors ignored her complaints of pain and bruising. Unfortunately she ultimately sustained injuries to the nerves in her arm which rendered it barely functional. Settled out of Court.
- A young couple attended their local hospital for the delivery of their first child when the woman went into labour. The woman’s labour was allowed to progress unassisted for over 36 hours without adequate monitoring of her baby’s heartbeat and she tragically gave birth to a stillborn baby. Settled at Mediation.
- After an accident at home, a man in his 50’s presented to his local hospital for repair of a fractured femur. During the course of surgical repair, the operating surgeon failed to properly secure the hardware used to repair the broken bone. As a result, the surgical repair failed and a second operation was required during which the client contracted an antibiotic resistant infection. Settled out of Court.
- A woman in her 40’s attended a well-known cosmetic surgeon for cosmetic surgery to her eyes. Surgeon failed to take reasonable care during the performance of the procedure and, as a result, client ended up with very poor cosmetic outcome, scarring and psychological injuries. Settled on the doorstep of the Court.
- A woman in her 40’s attended a cosmetic surgeon for laser treatment to the skin on her neck and chest. The cosmetic surgeon used wrong setting on the laser resurfacing equipment causing burning and scarring. Settled out of Court.
- A woman in her 50’s attended surgeon for reconstruction of a breast which had been removed by mastectomy. The surgeon had limited skills in reconstructing breasts. The original surgery failed and two further surgeries were required. The third surgery was performed but still to no effect. The surgeon’s licence was suspended and an offer of settlement was made within one month of commencing proceedings.
- A man in his 50’s sustained fractures to his neck in a motor vehicle accident. He attended hospital where traction was applied and, unfortunately, too great a force was applied and his spinal cord was severed, resulting in quadriplegia. Matter settled during course of Court hearing.
- During surgery to remove a cancer from his bladder, a man sustained a perforated urethra during the catheterisation process. Unfortunately this was not diagnosed prior to his discharge from hospital and he ultimately suffered a serious infection and permanent damage to his sexual function.
- After an accident at home in which he broke his femur, a man required surgery to repair it using surgical hardware. The repair did not work due to the surgeons failure to adequately secure metal “ties”. As a result a second operation was required during which an antibiotic resistant infection was contracted.
- A young woman with a pituitary tumour was misdiagnosed by her GP and obstetrician, who both failed to arrange blood tests which would have detected high levels of growth hormone. She subsequently developed a condition called acromegaly and suffered severe disabilities, including loss of sight, when attempts were made to remove the tumour. We obtained expert evidence from the two leading endocrinologists in the United Kingdom and the claim settled out of Court.
