A hospital trust had agreed to pay £1.2m in compensation to a patient who lost his leg after developing blood clots following surgery. The 59-year-old man had been scheduled for surgery at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham on October 17, 2016 to remove a tumour from his bowel.
The operation went smoothly, however a day later he started experiencing numbness and pain in his right leg and coldness in his foot, Hull Live reports. His lawyer claims these symptoms should have been reviewed by a specialist immediately.
Instead, the patient was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and the complication was handled ‘with a completely inappropriate lack of urgency'. Doctors failed to act for three days until the patient was eventually to transferred to Hull Royal Infirmary for an emergency duplex ultrasound scan, which looks at the blood flow in the major arteries and veins in the arms and legs.
A diagnosis of ischemic foot (lack of blood flow to the foot) was made and, despite surgery, the situation worsened over a matter of days, to the point where a decision was taken to carry out a below knee amputation. Due to further complications, including developing sepsis, a further operation was required to amputate above the knee.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust admitted delays in referring the patient to its vascular surgery unit and agreed the damages settlement out of court. Legal action was led by medical negligence specialists Hudgell Solicitors, in which it was alleged the delay meant an opportunity to prevent the amputation was missed.
The patient said: “It has been bittersweet in many ways as I know I owe the doctors for what they did in saving my life with the treatment of my cancer, but nurses said to me that I would be back at work within three months. When I left hospital after a month I’d almost halved in weight and the amputation had denied me the opportunity of getting back on with my life, getting back to work, and enjoying times with my family.
“We’ve children and grandchildren and it has impacted on what I can do with them, whilst me and my wife used to love walking and caravanning. We can’t do that now, and I really miss my work too. I know they denied being responsible for the amputation, but I think settling out of court says a lot.”
Medical negligence solicitor Michelle Tebbutt has also spoken of the contrast between the tumour treatment which was a big success and the subsequent issues with the blood clot. “Our client benefitted from the very best, and the worst standards of care within a matter of 24 hours,” she said.
“The operation to remove the cancerous tumour was completed with success and he has lived free of his cancer returning since. However, by the time he left hospital, more than a month after that initial operation, he’d been through horrendous complications and undergone two amputations on his right leg, firstly below the knee, and then high up almost at the groin.
“It was our case, and an opinion supported by independent medical experts, that with the symptoms being displayed the day after our client’s operation, the possibility of a problem with blood flow and supply to the leg should have been considered immediately, and that had action been taken quickly enough, his leg could have been saved.”
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust admitted that a senior registrar should have been contacted on October 18 and that an assessment should have been carried out immediately and not delayed. It also admitted that, had a referral been made at that point, surgery would have been carried out in the early morning of October 19, two days earlier than it eventually was.
Although the Trust admitted the delays had surmounted to a breach of duty, they denied it had made a difference to the eventual outcome, saying it was their opinion that the delay had not ‘materially contributed to the need for amputations’. The matter was set to be heard in court at trial in front of a judge, with the issue as to whether the delay had led to the need to amputate to be considered.
However, a settlement of £1.2m was agreed at a meeting between legal teams. “I’m glad the matter was sorted and I’m delighted with the settlement figure because it will enable us to sell our current home which is not suitable anymore, to buy a bungalow and not worry about bills in the future given I can no longer work and my wife has had to retire herself,” said the patient, now 65.
The man says he is still learning to live life as an amputee, but says he is positive about the future.
“Your life changes forever when you lose a leg. At the time of the amputation I was in pain and confused and I didn’t really take it in. I didn’t realise just how life would change. I still struggle now with my prosthetic, as it has been really difficult as my amputation ended so high because of the infections and difficulties.
“I have to go up and downstairs on my bottom, and I can’t do so much that I used to, but I have been going to the gym and playing wheelchair sports, so I am keeping myself active, and my wife is here to support me through it all. The legal case has given us peace of mind and security for the future, and for that we are grateful.”
The trust has apologised to the patient and says it is glad the issue has been resolved between both parties.
A spokeswoman said: “The trust extends its sincere apologies to the patient for the shortcomings in this case. We are pleased to have been able to reach an amicable resolution of the litigation and wish him well for the future.”
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