Negligent spinal surgery - woman receives £220k in compensation

Boyes Turner's medical negligence lawyers acted for a 45 year old woman who underwent surgery to compress her spinal cord at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust in 2004.

She suffered a post-operative bleed and a clot causing complete paralysis of her legs. There was a delay in recognition and treatment of the haematoma, as a result of which the client suffered damage to her spinal nerves leading to faecal and urinary incontinence. Some function in her legs has been recovered but she has been left with relatively poor mobility, muscle spasm and difficulty with fine finger movement.

The claim was funded by FirstAssist 'Before The Event' legal expenses insurance and then subsequently under the terms of a No Win, No Fee Agreement once the legal expenses policy had been exhausted.

A detailed Letter of Claim was sent to the Hospital in 2006 and Court proceedings were commenced in January 2007. A Defence served on behalf of the Hospital denied all allegations of negligence and the case proceeded towards trial.

As the matter proceeded towards trial the solicitors acting for the Hospital entered negotiations and ultimately in June 2008 the case settled for £221k. This sum represented a discount to the full value of the claim bearing in mind complexities surrounding both alleged negligence and whether the injury could have been avoided in any event.

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