Case Study

Elizabeth Larner has reached a settlement of £110,000 on behalf of a gentleman in relation to a case arising from a hospital Trust’s failure to administer antibiotics during appendectomy/umbilical hernia repair surgery.

As a result of the surgical wound not healing properly, he was diagnosed with mass septic shock. Surgery was required to open the wound wider and remove the infected tissue. Following this, the gentleman was experiencing increasing pain. A CT scan was arranged which showed an internal infection of the stitching around the hernia repair, meaning that further surgery was required. This surgery left him without a belly button. 

The gentleman suffered from a further infection, and the wound was drained. He was then taken into surgery for a VAC dressing to be put into his abdomen. The following morning the device failed, and the VAC dressing needed to be removed and reinstalled. It became apparent that no liner had been used when the VAC dressing was installed, which meant that the gauze had adhered itself to the inside of his abdomen. Another surgery was required to remove the dressing. 

Pain management intervention was required, and the gentleman received an injection into his abdominal wall to relieve his ongoing pain. 

As a result of the above, the gentleman, who is self employed, was unable to work for many months, leading to significant financial losses.

Elizabeth Larner said “at the time of our instruction, it was unclear what had gone wrong here, although I knew that there must have been errors somewhere along the line, as my client was fit and healthy at the time of surgery, and the surgeries that he has had usually have a relatively short and straightforward recovery. We instructed an independent General Surgeon who analysed the records carefully. He identified that no antibiotics were given to the gentleman during his surgery, and it was this that had led to his long period of pain and suffering. I was so glad that we were able to draw the Trust’s attention to what had gone wrong here, which led to an early admission of liability. We were able to settle the claim quickly, releasing vital funds to allow our client to start rebuilding his business following his inability to work due to his injuries”.

The gentleman said

“I cannot thank Elizabeth Larner enough for all her help, her attention to detail and more importantly her continued communication throughout the whole process was amazing. Through all her efforts and dedication on the case we reached a settlement which would help me ultimately rebuild everything I had lost “.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this case study and want to find out if you have a claim, please do not hesitate to contact one of the Clinical Negligence Team at Wollens.

Speak to Elizabeth Larner

Elizabeth is a Partner at Wollens and can advise you. Contact Elizabeth via email Elizabeth.Larner@wollens.co.uk or call 01803 225135.

You can also complete an online enquiry form. One of the Wollens team will contact you as soon as they are available.