£6m recovered against London hospital following repeated paediatric negligence
Mark Bowman and Henry Kirwan acted for Megan* following failings at a London hospital to diagnose her with malrotation of the gut and a midgut volvulus during her first year of life.
From approximately six months old, Megan suffered occasional episodes of vomiting which resolved spontaneously. The vomit was green, which should have alerted doctors to a significant problem. In fact, despite several attendances to doctors over three months, nothing was done.
It was not until four months after her initial presentation that the condition was diagnosed and, even then, it was not treated with sufficient urgency, taking almost 12 hours between admission to hospital and surgery being performed at a nearby specialist hospital. During surgery approximately 95 per cent of Megan's bowel had to be removed.
Megan's congenital abnormality of the gut known as malrotation should have been identified at any time after birth. The bowel was abnormally fixed meaning it could twist and cause obstruction.
Proceedings were issued and liability was initially strenuously denied. It was not until just before the claimant and defendant experts were due to meet to prepare joint statements that the trust admitted that had Megan been referred for surgery at any point prior to the final attendance, she would have avoided loss of her bowel.
Judgment was entered in Megan's favour and an immediate interim payment provided for case management support, helping her family move to more suitable rental accommodation and fund private nursing care.
Megan has been left with ultra short bowel syndrome, resulting in a major impairment of her ability to digest and absorb fluids and nutrients. As a result of intestinal failure, she now requires intravenous feeding (parenteral nutrition) for survival, done overnight to minimise the impact on her. She will hopefully be able to absorb some food and drink during the daytime.
PN feeding generates complications and dangers, likely leading to infection, which could be life threatening. Over the past five years, Megan was admitted to hospital around 20 times to deal with significant infections.
Medical experts instructed to advise on Megan's likely future needs and difficulties made it clear that she will have significant care needs, especially as a child, but that once she reached adulthood she would likely wish to manage her PN feeding regime herself.
There remained significant differences between the parties as to how many nights Megan would require PN feeding as she got older, and whether her life expectancy was reduced as a result of her condition, but eventually settlement was reached, three months prior to trial, which will provide her with a lump sum payment of just under £3m and annual payments of £120,095 to age 14, £100,000 to age 18 and £26,000 from age 18 for the rest of her life.
Following settlement, Megan's parents said: 'When our child incurred a life threatening and life changing injury, after a failure to diagnose and treat our child by a NHS Trust, we were devastated and at a real loss. Mark Bowman at Fieldfisher has been an amazing support for us over the years at such a traumatic time in our lives.
'Mark and his team have been incredible. They have supported us all to cope with massive life changing adjustments. I cannot recommend any other firms more highly. Thank you Mark and all the team.'
Contact us
For further information about delayed treatment claims or medical negligence claims, please call Mark Bowman on 0330 460 6794 or email mark.bowman@fieldfisher.com or call Henry Kirwan on 0330 460 6766 or email henry.kirwan@fieldfisher.com.
Alternatively
- You can speak to our medical negligence lawyers on freephone 0800 358 3848
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