Patricia was injured in June 1995 when
she sliced the phalanx of her little finger when cutting a
pizza. She attended the hospital and was admitted for a
primary repair of her tendon under general anaesthetic the
following day.
In September 1995, she was seen by a
consultant plastic surgeon at the hospital who found that she had
restricted movement due to adhesions on the tendon. She was advised
to have tenolysis surgery and she was admitted to the hospital in
November 1995 for this purpose.
The surgery involved grafting a tendon from
the leg to reconstruct the tendon in the right little
finger. Sadly, during the surgery the tendon in the leg was
wrongly identified and the surgeon stripped the post tibial nerve
by mistake.
Although the operation was completed by
harvesting a graft from the right forearm, the negligence caused
significant damage to the tibial nerve at the ankle of the left
foot.
The sole of Patricia's foot became numb,
whereas the top of the foot became hypersensitive. Walking became
difficult and initially she could not stand for any length of
time. She was in significant pain and became depressed as a
result of her injuries, which have now to some extent
abated.
Although liability was conceded by the
hospital at a very early stage, it was necessary to issue
proceedings because the parties were some way apart on damages.
The case was finally settled in the sum of
£54,000 on the 7th April 1999.
For further information or if you have a
cosmetic surgery claim please call
Paul McNeil on 020 7861
4019
or email paul.mcneil@ffw.com
You can discuss your cosmetic surgery claim with any member of
our medical negligence team on
freephone 0800 358 3848, email personalinjury@ffw.com or
complete our short enquiry form.