Hospital Misses Bleed On The Brain Not Once, But Twice!
In 2018 Mr K developed a sudden and severe headache with neck pain and nausea. He was taken to hospital via ambulance where he described the pain as 10/10. Mr K was discharged with a diagnosis of muscular pain. He was advised to see his GP the following day but to return to hospital if the severe headache returned, if he was feeling very unwell or if he started vomiting with headaches.
Mr K followed the advice and was seen by a locum GP the next day who prescribed Tramadol and suggested that Mr K go back to hospital and ask for a CT scan. Mr K decided to follow the specialist advice he had received at the hospital, particularly as his condition had not worsened and he had not developed any other symptoms.
Mr K’s condition did deteriorate 2 months later and he returned to hospital as instructed. His headache was worse and he described it as feeling like he had been hit by a brick. He had some visual disturbances and had vomited. On this occasion he was discharged with the suggestion that he had perhaps overdosed on his pain medication.
Mr K’s condition deteriorated further and he continued to suffer severe and debilitating headaches intermittently. Around 3 weeks after his last attendance he was found unconscious by his partner. He was taken to hospital and on this occasion, he did undergo a CT brain scan which confirmed that he had in fact suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage at the time of his first attendance and he had suffered further bleeds which had led to him attending hospital on the second and third occasion. His care was transferred to another more specialist hospital for treatment.
On discharge Mr K was found to have suffered left sided symptoms of weakness and a number of cognitive and neuro-psychological problems particularly with his memory so that he was unable to return to work or live completely independently. As a result of his condition, his relationship with his partner broke down and he went to live with his brother.
We were approached by Mr K who was being supported by his family and partner and we investigated his claims. We were able to establish with independent expert evidence that Mr K should have been offered a CT scan on both the first and second attendance at hospital and with a diagnosis on either occasion, he would have avoided the physical and neuropsychological deficits he eventually did suffer.
The Trust responsible for the hospital admitted breach of duty in relation to the failure to scan Mr K on his first attendance but then alleged that Mr K had been contributorily negligent in failing to follow the advice of the locum GP and return to hospital.
As a result of this allegation, court proceedings were issued and the Defendant Trust maintained its position that Mr K had contributed to his condition by not attending hospital earlier. They failed and refused when prompted, to say whether or not they admitted that there had been negligent treatment at Mr K’s second hospital attendance.
We were not persuaded by the Defendant’s argument. The Claimant’s QC saw no merit in the Defendant’s allegation of contributory negligence and it was intended that this would be robustly defended. Mr K did not know that he had received negligent treatment and he chose to rely on the advice he had received at hospital. When his condition did worsen he returned to hospital as instructed and they still did not make the correct diagnosis as they should have done!
Despite maintaining a Defence to the case, the Hospital’s solicitors were clearly not minded to see it through and after making an initial offer in settlement which the Claimant rejected on our advice, they then invited the Claimant to attend a round table meeting some 4 years after the original negligence to discuss settlement of his case. Mr K accepted an offer in full and final settlement of his claim in excess of £1,000,000.
This settlement may sound like a lot of money but Mr K has been left with significant life changing injuries. His relationship broke down, his current accommodation has been deemed not safe, he needs support daily and he will never be able to work again. He faces challenges every day that he would otherwise not have faced.
Brain injuries are not always all about physical injuries. Loosing the ability to properly manage your affairs, to run your own home, to maintain loving relationships, to have interests and hobbies and to hold down a job is devastating.
If you or someone you know has been affected by a brain injury or whatever kind as a result of medical treatment you received or failed to receive, please give us a call on 01642 231110 so that we can discuss with you what we can do to help.
Ashleigh Holt, November 2022