£1million compensation for client in misdiagnosis claim

After suffering sudden temporary blindness in his right eye and loss of control of his right arm, Mr L booked an appointment at his GP’s surgery but was told by his doctor he had nothing to worry about and that the occurrence was most likely a one-off. Following the visit to his GP, Mr L continued to suffer problems with his eyes and also found he was suffering periods of disorientation and confusion.

Mr L’s condition continued to deteriorate and whilst at work, one day suffered total blindness for 40 minutes and loss of control in his left arm. He was taken to the Accident and Emergency department at the local hospital where he was examined by several specialists. Mr L received a diagnosis of amaurosis fugax – painless loss of sight in one or both eyes. This diagnosis and the failure to identify this ailment as a potential indicator of a more serious condition proved to be negligent on the part of the medical professionals assessing Mr L.

After returning home from the hospital Mr L suffered another period of temporary blindness, this time lasting around 20 minutes. Concerned for his health Mr L booked another appointment to see his GP the following day. After another examination, the GP on duty was unable to identify any problem and recommended Mr L book an appointment with a local optician. The optician subsequently told Mr L that there were no problems with his eyes.

Still very concerned, Mr L booked an appointment to see a specialist at another local hospital. Two days before his scheduled appointment Mr Lanham suffered a very serious stroke during the night. The stroke led to Mr L being hospitalised for over two months.

Mr L sought advice and representation from Blackwater Law medical negligence solicitors in relation to his stroke claim and misdiagnosis compensation. Initially, the defendants denied liability. However, Mr L’s medical negligence solicitor at Blackwater Law built a strong legal argument in support of the medical negligence claim. This involved securing vital supporting medical evidence from a leading medical expert that specialises in strokes. It was determined that at the point Mr L was diagnosed with amaurosis fugax, there should have been a further investigation into Mr L’s condition. It was argued such further investigation by a competent medical professional would and should have diagnosed that Mr L had in fact suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA) – a mini-stroke – and was therefore at significant risk of suffering a more serious stroke. An action could then have been taken to identify the blood clot that had caused Mr L’s TIA and address this, therefore preventing the more serious stroke from occurring.

Following the legal argument and strong medical negligence claim put forward by Blackwater Law, the defendant hospital admitted liability. This was not the end of the claim, however. Following the admission of liability by the defendants, Blackwater Law continued to advise and represent Mr L so as to ensure he received the maximum amount of medical negligence compensation. This involved Blackwater Law instructing experts to assess the care that Mr L would need over the course of his lifetime due to his disability caused by the stroke and his loss of past and future earnings due to no longer being able to work.

Once an assessment of Mr L’s future care and financial needs was made, negotiations took place between the defendant and Blackwater Law. These negotiations began with an initial offer from the defendant of £650,000. Blackwater Law’s strong negotiation skills, combined with the evidence compiled using experts, meant the defendant s agreed to pay a final settlement of £1,000,000.

Mr L and his legal team at Blackwater Law were extremely pleased with the amount of compensation achieved as it means he can be sure that he will always be able to afford to pay for the care he needs, both now and in the future.

Given the value of the compensation received by Mr L, Blackwater Law also ensured Mr L received financial advice and that a Trust was set up so as to provide a steady income over the course of his lifetime, providing additional financial security. In commenting on the service Mr L had received from Blackwater Law, he said quite simply:

“Excellent service all-round”

Although in this case it was deemed that the hospital was negligent, there may be times when your experience is with General Practitioner (GP) negligence. If you feel that you have suffered physically or mentally through misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis from your GP, then please contact us to see if you could make a claim.