Paul McNeil recovered £125,000 for
Holly who suffered hearing loss following a delay in diagnosing
meningitis at London Bridge Hospital.
Holly was admitted to the Accident and
Emergency department at the hospital on 29 August
2000. She was 14 months old at the time and was suffering from
symptoms of meningitis. She was negligently discharged without
appropriate investigation or monitoring of her condition and
without any diagnosis.
Throughout that night and the next day she
continued to have symptoms of meningitis. She was admitted to the
casualty department at the neighbouring Guy’s & St Thomas’
Hospital where she was diagnosed with meningitis
and treated with strong antibiotics.
The delay in the investigation and
the introduction of antibiotic treatment caused Holly to
suffer profound bilateral hearing loss and inner ear damage
affecting her balance.
Happily she made a remarkable recovery with the aid
of a cochlear implant and she remains a gifted musician.
The hospital denied liability on two grounds:
- Firstly, there had been no negligence in
discharging Holly from hospital suggesting that her
parents statements as to her condition were exaggerated.
- Secondly, the hospital argued that even if
treatment by antibiotics had been given on the night of the 29
August she would still have suffered from profound bilateral
hearing loss. There would not have been a different
outcome.
We obtained expert evidence from a number of
medical experts. An A&E Consultant confirmed that Holly
should not have been discharged. Our expert paediatrician
confirmed that antibiotics should have been administered almost
immediately as a precaution and a paediatric neurologist confirmed
that the failure to give antibiotics in the early hours of 30
August caused or contributed to her bilateral hearing
loss.
Expert evidence was exchanged and eventually the
hospital accepted responsibility and apologised for its
errors.
Holly received £125,000 in
compensation. The case was funded by Legal Aid.
For further information or if you have an accident and emergency negligence
claim, call Paul
McNeil
on 020 7861 4019 or email paul.mcneil@ffw.com
You can discuss your accident and emergency
negligence claim with any member of our
medical negligence team on
freephone 0800 358 3848, email personalinjury@ffw.com
or complete our short enquiry form.