Girlings Personal Injury Claims Ltd

Settlement in excess of £8 million for our brain injured client following negligent hospital treatment.

In 2013, our client (Mr R) was taken by ambulance to hospital because of severe abdominal pain and vomiting. Once at hospital, all clinical observations were normal other than a high white blood cell count. He was discharged home with a diagnosis of a urinary tract infection, despite the fact that the urine sample results did not support this diagnosis.

That evening, our client contacted the emergency services again as his pain had not improved at all. Mr R was taken to hospital by ambulance, where he was noted to have low blood pressure. A CT scan was performed some two hours later and Mr R was not reviewed by a registrar until another 3 had passed. It emerged that our client was suffering from a bowel obstruction and surgery was scheduled to take place in the early morning.

During surgery our client had a cardiac arrest. Resuscitation was required and thankfully, our client survived. Tragically however, he was left with life changing injuries as a result of a hypoxic brain injury (this occurs when the brain is starved of oxygen). Furthermore, a large section of his bowel had to be removed and he was fitted with a stoma bag.

Mr R required an extended hospital stay of 5 months before being discharged.

Following investigation by our medical experts, a letter of claim was sent to the Hospital Trust. We alleged that Mr R should not have been discharged from hospital following his first admission. As a result, he suffered a 9-hour delay before vital surgery was performed. This, in turn, led to a large section of his bowel being removed, as well as his cardiac arrest and consequent brain injury. In their response, the Trust admitted that our client’s brain injury was caused by negligent medical treatment.

Mr R has been left with life-changing injuries and will require care for the rest of his life. He will never be able to work again. We were able to secure interim payments in order to fund rehabilitation in the form of physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. We also secured single storey accommodation for our client as he is no longer able to manage stairs.

Following negotiations, Clare Milne, Head of our Clinical Negligence Department, eventually settled the claim for over 8 million pounds.

£40,000 awarded to our client for blow to the head by a toppling wall.

Ms L sustained injuries when she was struck on the head by a toppling wall. These injuries included a permanent injury to her neck, a 2-3 year aggravation of a pre-existing back condition, headaches and psychological symptoms. She also sustained a mild head injury. These injuries affected her ability to carry out her part time job.

She recovered £40,000 in compensation for her pain and suffering, loss of earnings and out of pocket expenses.