We pursued a surgical negligence claim
and secured £95,000 for Alex who suffered incontinence
following an examination under anaesthetic.
In 1992, Alex developed rectal bleeding and
pain in the anal area. He attended the Homerton Hospital where
an anal fissure (tear to his anus) was diagnosed. Conservative
treatment worked well for a year until he suffered an acute
exacerbation of his symptoms. He was then referred to the
Royal London Hospital
for surgery.
On 24 June 1993, Alex underwent an
examination under anaesthetic (EUA) and a lateral
sphincterotomy. Following the procedure, he continued to
suffer pain and had some leakage of faeces.
As his symptoms continued unchanged, Alex was
readmitted for a second EUA on 2 August 1993. During the EUA
an anal stretch was performed. By September 1993, Alex
was complaining of faecal incontinence as a result of the anal
stretch, which was performed without his consent.
We were instructed on a "no win, no fee" basis and Rodney Nelson-Jones issued proceedings on 28
June 1996, shortly after instructions were received, to protect the
position on limitation. You only have 3 years to claim based
on the statute of limitations and we wanted to ensure that Alex's
claim did not become statute barred because he had run out of
time.
We alleged that the hospital
failed to refer Alex to a specialist colo-rectal surgeon, the
failure to obtain consent for the anal stretch and the performance
of the anal stretch only 37 days after the lateral
sphincterotomy.
The defendant admitted breach of duty in
respect of the performance of the anal stretch, but denied that the
anal incontinence had been caused by this breach of duty.
Following negotiations an offer of £95,000 was accepted.
For further information or if you have a surgical negligence claim, call Rodney Nelson-Jones on
020 7861 4022 or email rodney.nelson-jones@ffw.com
You can discuss your surgical
negligence claim with any member of our medical negligence claims team on
freephone 0800 358 3848, email personalinjury@ffw.com or
complete our short enquiry form.