English
Our elderly client had undergone an eye consultation at Northwick Park Moorfields Eye Hospital, but his condition was not monitored in the following years, contrary the hospitals own guidelines. He subsequently developed a rare, degenerative eye condition that led to partial blindness. This is likely to lead to complete blindness in the next 5 years.
He therefore approached our Medical Negligence Solicitors to make an ophthalmic claim for compensation.
The treatment administered to our client and the absence of monitoring of his condition raised a number of issues, such as whether carrying out annual check-ups after his initial appointment should have been mandatory, as well as the extent to which the delay made his condition worse.
We're rated‘Excellent’Medical Negligence Partner David Thomas, with the assistance of Paralegal Chantelle Cooper, agreed to take on this case and sought to reach a compensation settlement with Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Partner David Thomas instructed an expert ophthalmologist (a specialist who deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders) to examine our client, and they provided evidence that it was negligent not to carry out annual monitoring of the client’s eye condition following the consultation at Northwick Park Moorfields Eye Hospital.
The expert ophthalmologist stated that had annual monitoring taken place, our client’s eye condition would have been diagnosed far earlier than it had been. The expert also concluded that had the delay not occurred, treatment would have been provided which would have preserved the client’s vision. However, the opportunity to treat him was missed and, as a result, the deterioration in the client’s vision is now beyond treatment.
Whereas our expert predicted that our client will be completely blind in the next 5 years, the defendant’s expert took a more optimistic view, stating that the client’s vision isn’t likely to deteriorate significantly for another 10 to 15 years.
Nevertheless, he did acknowledge that it was negligent not to carry out annual follow-ups.
Following mediation, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust agreed to settle the case for a total of £180,000 compensation. Mediation was highly successful in this case as it enabled both sides to meet and focus on the issues.
This meant they were able to come to a fair and reasonable compensation settlement before substantial legal costs could be incurred. The client also received an apology from the Trust and reassurances that lessons had been learned from his experience.
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