£100,000 Compensation for Delayed Eye Treatment

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Georgina Emsley

Solicitor, Medical Negligence

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A Medical Negligence Claim Case Study - Client Situation

Ms S was suffering with pain in her right eye, together with watering and blurring. She went to A&E at Russell Hall Hospital in Dudley, where she was prescribed eye drops and she was discharged home shortly after.

The vision in her right eye had been poor since she was a baby, even with the use of glasses, and as a result she relied heavily on her left eye. In the days after visiting the hospital though, she noticed the vision in her left eye was getting progressively worse.

Ms S returned to the hospital and was advised she had a cataract so she was prescribed additional eye drops which she was assured would ease the pain and alleviate her symptoms. Her condition failed to improve following use of the eye drops and eventually, she was referred to City Hospital for further investigations. She had visual tests, a scan, and a biopsy of her eyeball to investigate the problem.

Clinicians identified Ms S had inflammation in her eye so further eye drops were prescribed, together with steroid tablets. Initially Ms S did not notice any difference and she attended at hospital weekly to get the eye checked.

At one consultation at hospital, the clinician confirmed that while the inflammation was still there it was reducing and they were hopeful Ms S’ vision would return to normal. Ms S was excited at this prospect, as she believed her sight was returning and there were no other issues. However, the specialist noted that the presence of a scar at the back of Ms S’ eye and advised that she would unfortunately remain partially sighted due to this. The vision in her right eye returned to normal, but the loss of vision in her left eye was sadly permanent.

Ms S already suffered from osteoporosis and relied on daily support from her husband due to the nature of the condition weakening her bones and causing fragility. The deterioration of her sight resulted in an increased need for care and assistance as she was unable to carry out many of her daily activities such as washing, cooking and getting dressed. Her husband could only help to an extent due to his own limitations and was already doing the best he could prior to the eye injury.

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How Simpson Millar Helped

Before the failings in her care Ms S could see out of her left eye with assistance of long-distance glasses and could easily read and drive a car. These activities became impossible due to the worsening in her vision on the left side, which she believed was caused by Russell Hall Hospital’s alleged negligence.

She got in touch with our Medical Negligence Solicitors to claim compensation from the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust. We agreed to accept instructions to investigate her potential claim and approached the Trust with the details of our allegations.

One significant  breach of duty was the ophthalmologist failing to arrange a review and/or examination of Ms S within 2 or 3 days of her initial assessment or referring her to the eye clinic for further review during this time.

It was crucial that she was properly examined but instead, she was prescribed a course of steroids, which were ineffective.

We were concerned that clinicians failed to consider that the issues affecting her right eye may affect the left eye, and that they failed to check for conditions such as retinal detachment, when she had indicative symptoms.

We argued on her behalf that but for the negligence, she would have received the treatment she needed and/or would have been referred to specialists at Birmingham Midland Eye Centre without delay. This would have prevented the deterioration of sight in her left eye and the subsequent sequalae she suffered.

Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust denied liability (responsibility) at first, arguing that Ms S had missed various appointments offered to her in previous years. We disputed this as it had no relevance to the claim and they eventually agreed to settle the case before trial.

The Outcome 

Following negotiations with Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, we secured a compensation settlement of £100,000 for Ms S. This will contribute towards the cost of the additional care that she will now need for the rest of her life, and the extra responsibilities her husband has as her main carer.

The compensation settlement was calculated to reflect the pain, suffering and distress she experienced as a result of the medical negligence.

Contact Us

Every year there are around 13,551 clinical claims against the NHS, with 99% of those being successful in reaching some form of settlement. If you’ve been injured because of medical negligence whilst having eye treatment, contact our expert Medical Negligence Solicitors for a free claims assessment.

While some eye problems can be simple to deal with, mistakes can and do happen. If your condition is made worse or goes undiagnosed by health professionals for a period of time despite you being symptomatic, like Ms S, you could claim compensation for medical negligence.

Our friendly and compassionate solicitors have a strong track record of helping people who’ve suffered an injury as a result of  medical negligence. We will assess the likely prospects of success and quickly tell you if we think your claim is worth pursuing and we will talk you through your options to pay for it – we take on most medical negligence claims on a No Win, No Fee basis.

So, if you think a mistake has been made with your treatment, get in touch for a free claims assessment by calling us on 0808 239 6043.

References:

NHS Resolution. (n.d.). Annual Report and Accounts 2022/23. [Online] Available at: https://resolution.nhs.uk/resources/annual-report-statistics/

NHS. (n.d.). Osteoporosis. [Online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/osteoporosis/

NHS. (n.d.). Russells Hall Hospital. [Online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/services/hospital/russells-hall-hospital/RNA01

Georgina Emsley

Solicitor, Medical Negligence

Areas of Expertise:
Medical Negligence

Georgina is a Solicitor who works in our Medical Negligence team here at Simpson Millar, based in our Manchester office.

She is a committed and highly reliable Solicitor with a track record of supporting clients through the process of making a claim to achieve the best outcome for them. Georgina has experience working on many high-value cases with a range of circumstances and complexities from start to finish, where she reviews medical records, liaises with experts and gathers evidence in order to negotiate the best possible settlement for her clients.

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