Case studies

• Damages of £1.44 million secured for client with spinal cord injury following trial win
  We recently secured judgment at trial for our client, who suffered a permanent neurological injury following penetration of her spinal cord by an anaesthetic needle.
• Settlement for nerve damage suffered by top athlete after surgeon’s failure to advise of spinal surgery risks
  We settled a claim against Nottingham University Hospitals for a client who underwent spinal surgery in 2009. Our client was a high-achieving elite athlete who was one of the top 10 fastest female cyclists ever in the UK over 10 and 25 miles.
• Settlement of claim against hospital for tragic death of young mother
  We settled a claim on behalf of a father and his two sons in relation to the death of his wife due to a failure to identify a sub arachnoid haemorrhage in time to prevent further fatal bleeding.
• Negligent spinal surgery
  We have recently settled a claim against a private spinal surgeon for negligent surgery to correct scoliosis which left our client suffering significant neurological damage. She has long-term severely impaired bladder function.
• Delay in operating on patient with suspected Cauda Equina Syndrome
  A diagnosis of CES can be confirmed only with an MRI scan and the condition needs urgent treatment to avoid permanent and severe damage. Our 30-year old client had suspected CES and was admitted to hospital for an MRI scan, but this was delayed by 10 hours.
• Settlement for stroke resulting from Legionnaire’s Disease during cancer treatment
  Our client had been admitted to Guy’s Hospital with complications following treatment for throat cancer. During his stay, he contracted Legionnaire’s Disease due to contamination on one of the wash basins.
• Failure to investigate/diagnose Cauda Equina Syndrome
  Our client attended her local A&E with signs of CES. These were noted by the A&E doctor and she was correctly referred to the orthopaedic team. There was a disagreement about the evidence for CES and a senior orthopaedic doctor was therefore involved.
• Failure to diagnose cervical instability
  We acted on behalf of a girl with a rare genetic condition resulting in short stature. The condition also has a number of other conditions associated with it, including cervical instability.
• Claim for delayed diagnosis of multiple sclerosis
  We are investigating a potential claim for a client with multiple sclerosis and considering whether the condition should have been diagnosed much earlier and at a time when treatment would still have been successful.
• Damages awarded following delay in diagnosis of failed spinal fusion
  We have secured settlement for our client following the delayed diagnosis of a failed spinal fusion, which resulted in two years of pain and suffering before revision surgery was performed.
• Compensation after anaesthetist injects nerve block to wrong side of neck
  We have recently settled a claim for a client who received NHS treatment at Nuffield Health, Brentwood Hospital, during which a nerve block was administered to the wrong side of his neck.
• Substantial settlement for loss of sight caused during spinal surgery
  We have recently settled a claim for a GP client who suffered loss of vision and visual disturbance because of negligent anaesthetic management during spinal surgery.
• Settlement of claim for a breach of duty of care leading to a spinal cord injury (SCI)
  Our client, HHH, was born with a particularly rare underlying degenerative condition which was associated with spinal deterioration. An operation to stabilise the spine was performed at a very young age.
• Claim settled for client who suffered a permanent neurological injury caused by acute morphine withdrawal
  We have settled a claim for a client who suffered a neurological injury as a result of withdrawal of her usual morphine dose. She had suffered from lupus for many years. To control the pain caused by her condition, she needed to take high doses of oral morphine.
• Settlement for negligent nerve damage during orthopaedic surgery
  We have recently settled a claim for a client who suffered serious and permanent loss of function as a result of severe damage caused to his ulnar nerve during a routine elbow arthroscopy.
• Compensation for delayed treatment of patient's femoral nerve palsy
  We have represented a young man who suffered multiple injuries when he fell some 25 feet from a bridge. Our client was extremely lucky to survive the fall but sustained head, chest and pelvic injuries.
• Paediatric claim for a child left brain-injured after seizures
  Our clinical negligence team is currently looking into how a young child was so severely brain-injured after being transferred to hospital due to seizures.
• Negligence admitted after failure to treat major seizure in young child leading to hypoxic brain injury
  This claim related to a hospital’s failure to manage a significant seizure,identify and act upon serious neurological deterioration, including respiratory distress, to intubate in a timely fashion, and to avoid the hypoxic brain injury a young child claimant suffered.
• Compensation claim for failure to investigate ruptured aneurysm leading to brain haemorrhage
  Our clinical negligence team has settled a compensation claim for a young woman who experienced a ruptured aneurysm which caused her to suffer a brain haemorrhage four years later.

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