£1.5m following blunders during knee replacement at Whipps Cross Hospital
Mary was 71 at the time she underwent a total knee replacement to her left leg at Whipps Cross Hospital. The aim of the surgery was to improve her symptoms of pain and poor mobility caused by arthritis, with the view to replacing her other knee shortly after.
During the operation, a surgeon severed Mary's popliteal artery, causing loss of blood supply to her lower left leg. The injury was not identified for several hours when the leg had turned blue and cold to touch. Mary was transferred for emergency surgery to restore the blood supply to her leg and, while the leg was saved, she has been left with significant deformity and cannot mobilise properly. Understandably, Mary is reluctant to undergo the second knee replacement or any other major operations meaning she is now largely wheelchair bound.
The defendant hospital accepted that the surgeon was negligent in severing of Mary's artery. They further acknowledged that the subsequent delay in recognising the complication in the recovery room caused Mary's injuries to be worse than they would have been otherwise.
There were, however, disputes as to what the cost of Mary's additional requirements would be. We successfully argued that Mary's compensation package should be substantial to reflect the significant cost of her new needs. This included the financial means to employ a professional carer, purchase adapted accommodation plus various aids and equipment needed to assist with everyday life.
Following several difficult years, the £1.5m settlement will provide Mary with financial certainty and stability to be able to enjoy her later life.
At the end of the claim, Mary's daughter said:
"Firstly, I would like to say that we researched several solicitors to work with and Mark Bowman at Fieldfisher seemed most suitable for us. Once we started working with Mark and his team, we knew we had definitely made an excellent choice. Mark and his team work with compassion, empathy, understanding, and are very professional. We were regularly updated via email and telephone on our case and whenever we needed to ask even a very simple question, there was always a very prompt response. The end result confirms all of the above and we can't thank Mark and his team enough."
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