Family of Deceased Recover £30,000 Following Medical Negligence

Farleys’ personal injury team were approached by Mrs E about the possibility of making a claim for medical negligence after her husband had sadly died after a delayed cancer diagnosis.

Background

Mr E had attended his local hospital with leg swelling, shortness of breath and back pain. A CT scan was performed which identified a tumour in the lung, invading the adjacent spine and ribs, bilateral pulmonary emboli and deep venous thrombosis. After further scans and a biopsy, Mr E was diagnosed with lung cancer.

After he was diagnosed, it was discovered that a CT scan had been performed five months previously which had already highlighted abnormal findings but the results had not been reported at the time.

Mr E’s condition deteriorated and less than a month later, he suffered a cardiac arrest and sadly died. His cause of death was recorded as a blood clot on the lung which was contributed to by the underlying lung cancer. Mr E was 53 years old when he died.

How Farleys Were Able to Help

Mr E’s widow instructed Holly Barnes of Farleys’ personal injury team to submit a claim for compensation on behalf of herself and her five children who were all under the age of 18 at the time of Mr E’s death.

Unfortunately, Mr E had already got a stage 3 tumour which was eroding into the chest wall at the time of his first scan; however, Holly argued on behalf of Mrs E that due to the negligent delay in diagnosis and treatment, Mr E experienced additional and unnecessary pain and died sooner than he would have done had he been diagnosed promptly.

The hospital trust admitted a breach of duty in not reporting the results and also agreed that Mr E should have been started on palliative care sooner. The trust did not agree that his death was impacted by the delay so our team obtained a report from a Consultant Medical Oncologist. Our expert said that had Mr E been diagnosed at the first scan, he would have been admitted to hospital and treatment would have started. He concluded that on the balance of probability, Mr E would have avoided the pulmonary embolism which led to his death.

Holly submitted a claim on Mrs E’s behalf which included claims for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, funeral expenses, and care and assistance around the home by Mrs E for 5 months. Holly also submitted claims from Mr E’s dependants which were Mrs E and her five children. She argued that they had a reasonable expectation of a pecuniary benefit for the rest of his life and that they had suffered a loss of his services which included decorating, chores, housework and childcare.

We successfully settled the claim for £30,000 without the need to go to court, which would have added to the family’s distress.

Holly commented,

We were pleased to have recovered £30,000 for Mr E’s Estate and his children. While no amount of money will make up for the loss of a loved one, I hope this compensation will provide Mrs E and her children some financial stability while they adjust to life without Mr E.

Contact a Specialist in Medical Negligence Claims

If you have suffered or you have sadly lost a loved one as a result of medical negligence, our specialists at Farleys are on hand to advise you on making a claim for compensation. Medical negligence cases can often be undertaken on a no win no fee basis so get in touch with our team today to discuss your case. Call 01254 606 008 or contact us by email.