Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
NHS Trust Pays Compensation to Family of Clinical Negligence Victim
17th October 2012
A wife and grandmother tragically died because doctors failed to monitor and treat her correctly. Our expert clinical negligence solicitors represented her husband in a successful compensation claim against the NHS Trust.
Important Tests Not Carried Out
Our client’s wife was treated at hospital after she fractured her arm in a fall. She was already taking medication for existing health problems, including warfarin, a blood-thinning medication.
After a stay in hospital she returned home to continue recovering from her injury, but she died a month later due to a brain haemorrhage.
All patients who take warfarin should be tested regularly to check that they are on the correct dose and their blood is clotting correctly. This helps to prevent excessive anticoagulation, which can result in bleeding. Our client’s wife did not receive regular tests after she was released from hospital however, even though she was also taking amiodarone, a drug which interacts with warfarin and enhances its effects.
Her condition deteriorated a few weeks after she left hospital and she started to show signs that her blood was not clotting as it should, including extensive bruising. She was visited at home by two different doctors, but they didn’t take note of her symptoms or act on them until it was too late for treatment to be successful.
If she had been tested weekly, and medication to reverse the effects of the blood thinners was administered sooner, it is unlikely she would have suffered the haemorrhage that caused her death.
A post mortem confirmed that the haemorrhage was caused by warfarin toxicity and an inquest identified several failings with her treatment, including the Trust’s failure to follow their own protocols for monitoring patients taking warfarin.
Claim Against Hospital Trust
We were approached by her family for help with a medical negligence claim. We put forward evidence from her medical records and the findings of the inquest and the Trust admitted full liability.
Through negotiations with the other side we were able to settle the case out of court and our client received £90,000 compensation. This included amounts for funeral expenses, bereavement damages and the loss of his partner’s care, attention and assistance.
Medical Negligence Advice
If you or a member of your family has been affected by clinical negligence, you may be entitled to make a claim.
At The Legal Line, our clinical negligence team have a wealth of experience in recovering compensation for people injured by sub-standard medical care and we can provide you with the best possible legal advice.
Contact us on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online.
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