The family of Gary Foster, a 27 year old cancer patient who died
in 2007 after taking part in a government funded medical trial,
have finally been awarded substantial compensation. Gary, a graphic
designer from Waltham Abbey in Essex, was suffering from testicular
cancer. In the course of his treatment, on seven separate
occasions, he was given double the prescribed amount of
chemotherapy drug bleomycin. He died as a result of the
overdose.
Gary was treated in University College London Hospitals NHS
Trust (UCLH) after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. He was
told that he had a 60% chance of survival and was offered a place
on the medical trial which doctors told him would increase this.
Gary and his family agreed to the trial, believing his chances of
survival would be greater and that he would receive a better level
of care.
The trial was testing whether a combination of five existing
chemotherapy drugs was better at treating testicular cancer than
the standard treatment of three drugs. From June 2007 until
mid-September 2007 Gary was treated with the drugs at UCLH and on
seven occasions he received 30,000 units of one of the drugs,
bleomycin, instead of 15,000.
Despite exhibiting the symptoms of lung damage caused by
bleomycin, medical staff did not recognise the warning signs that
the drug was damaging his lungs. Eventually he became so ill that
he was transferred to intensive care, requiring respiratory
support, and died on 14th October 2007. The Coroner’s report found
that Gary died as a result of lung damage caused by bleomycin
toxicity and also as a result of the overdose of the bleomycin.
Gary Foster’s family instructed Mark Bowman, clinical negligence
lawyer at Field Fisher Waterhouse, in a claim against UCLH. Despite
the outcome of the Coroner’s Report, UCLH continued to fight the
case. It was only after proceedings were issued in the High Court
that UCLH eventually admitted that their negligent treatment had
caused Gary’s death. Even then, UCLH sought to deny the family
compensation, stating that neither Gary’s fiancée nor his parents
were entitled to recover damages as secondary victims.
Following a settlement meeting in July 2010, just four months
before trial, UCLH agreed to pay out substantial compensation to
Gary’s family in settlement of their claims.
Following the settlement Mark Bowman said: “I am pleased that
UCLH has finally compensated Gary’s family. No amount of money can
ever bring back a loved one but hopefully, following the
settlement, the family can start to move on and rebuild their
lives. This tragic case highlights the potential dangers involved
in any form of clinical trial. Such trials need to be set up,
regulated, monitored and administered with the utmost scrutiny, to
avoid others suffering fatal consequences.”
Gary’s fiancée, at the conclusion of the claim, stated, “I am
really grateful for all that Field Fisher Waterhouse have done for
me. When I first started the legal process people said to me that I
would hate solicitors at the end of it and that I would be
constantly chasing them. Thankfully that has not been the case.
Mark has always responded to me promptly, even when it has been
over something petty, and has always dealt with the claim with the
utmost compassion..”