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Sarah Goodman
Cathryn Davies
Janet Allan
Kashmir Uppal
Gillian Muir
Anne Osborn
Linda Millband
Gwen Kirby-Dent
Charlotta Harpur
Adam Smith
Amielia Campbell-Powell
Moyo Adunola
Sharon Banga
Sarah has over 20 years experience of running clinical negligence claims and is the head of the clinical negligence team at Thompsons. Sarah qualified as a solicitor in 1980 and is a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Panel of Clinical Negligence Specialists, the AvMA specialist panel and APIL.
• A women with damage to the ureter following surgery, some after hysterectomy, another following caesarean section.
• A woman who travelled with her mother from the Irish Republic for a termination of pregnancy at a private clinic only to find out too late that she was still pregnant.
• A man whose lung cancer was picked up on a scan for something else but not followed up - sadly he died nearly three years later.
• A woman admitted to hospital with what later proved to be a bowel perforation, though the signs were missed on the scan and she died five days later.
Cathryn has been acting for clinical negligence clients with Thompsons since shortly after she joined the firm in 1989. Over that period she has dealt with all types of cases in Wales and England, acting for both children and patients. She has acted for clients involved in group action claims, including Valium, Hepatitus, hip replacement joints and organ retention.
As a senior member of the clinical negligence team, Cathryn coordinates the team throughout Wales and the south west of England. She is often asked to speak at training events both externally and internally about clinical negligence claims and has been a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme since 2000.
• Cathryn has recently acted in a number of cases concerning birth injuries, including Cerebral Palsy, laparoscopic injury cases, missed fractures and eye treatments e.g. cataract surgery and delayed diagnosis of glaucoma.
• Other recent cases involve injuries arising from therapy such as physiotherapy and electrolysis.
Janet joined the Newcastle office at Thompsons in 1983 and has specialised in clinical negligence work since 1995. Janet is a partner and is one of two clinical negligence specialists for the north east of England.
Janet is a Solicitors Regulation Authority Clinical Negligence panel member and Personal Injury panel member. She is also an APIL senior litigator member.
• These include cerebral palsy, delayed diagnosis of fractures, liver damage caused by a biopsy, damage to sphincter during child birth, tendon injuries, delayed diagnosis of cancer and laparoscopic injury cases. Janet has also recently dealt with a case involving an unnecessary amputation. To read more about this case visit Unnecessary Amputation.
Handling complex and high value clinical negligence claims for victims of medical accidents is what Kashmir has specialised in since joining Thompsons 6 years ago. The cases have ranged from acting for children and young adults who have suffered severe brain damage at birth due to the negligent management of their delivery, to retained swab cases, which thankfully only cause a short term injury. By paying attention to detail and listening to all the concerns raised by the clients, Kashmir has assisted them in securing compensation to improve the quality of their life, and coping with the emotional trauma of a clinical accident.
Kashmir is a regular speaker at training days for union officials and has been a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme since June 2004.
• In April 2007, Kashmir settled a case for a young adult who had suffered severe brain damage at the time of his birth due to the negligent delivery. The total settlement figure exceeded £2.5 million and consisted of a lump sum payment of just over £1 million together with substantial periodical payments for the rest of his life.
• In March 2007, Kashmir secured damages of just under £1 million for a former nurse who had suffered brain injury as a result of a delay in diagnosing a brain tumour.
• Settlement of a widely published case of wrong diagnosis of kidney cancer, which led to an unnecessary operation and the loss of an otherwise healthy kidney.
• Kashmir has also handled a variety of cases including professional negligence claims against other solicitors, for negligently conducting clinical negligence claims, and product liability claims, to include a claim against the Department of Health due to their failure to withdraw the human growth hormone after it was known that there was a risk of developing the human form of mad cows disease.
Gillian has specialised in clinical negligence cases since she qualified in 1997. She is a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme and APIL.
Gillian’s experience includes spending several months working in house at a local NHS Trust Legal department as well as conducting several high value settlements. She is based in Thompsons’ Newcastle office.
• Gillian’s recent cases include several high value settlements for clients who have cerebral palsy. These awards have helped the families who are currently the main carers for the children. They have been able to move to new homes where the accommodation is more suitable, purchase cars which can accommodate wheelchairs and have additional therapies such as speech therapy and physiotherapy on a daily basis. The awards should also help these children to remain as independent as possible when they reach adulthood as they will be able to employ carers to come to them, rather than being dependant on state care.
• A recent bile duct case involved the claimant having to give up her career as a community midwife. She developed a wound infection which was drained on the ward without proper anaesthetic. This resulted in a psychiatric injury on top of the physical injuries.
• Gillian has recently concluded a case for £900,000 where the hospital failed to diagnose and treat an infection in a 60 year old lady. This resulted in the client being confined to a wheelchair and incontinence, when simple antibiotics could have resulted in a complete recovery for the client.
• Other cases in which Gillian is involved include a fatal accident case where there was a failure to diagnose an aortic aneurysm in a father of 4 who was in his early 40s, another case involving a delay in diagnosis of a spinal injury which has resulted in the Claimant being confined to a wheelchair, and a case in which a swab was left inside a woman’s abdomen following a caesarean section. This resulted in her having to undergo a further operation under general anaesthetic - thankfully there were no long term medical problems as a result of this.
Anne works in the Thompsons’ Bristol office with clients in the south west region.
With over 10 years’ experience specialising in clinical negligence claims, Anne is experienced in all aspects of clinical negligence work including cases involving spinal and brain injury, birth damage, cancer, surgery and fatal claims involving adults and children.
Anne is a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s specialist Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme and has been since 2001. She is also accredited with the Spinal Injuries Association and is a member with senior litigator status of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
• Failing to diagnose a retinal detachment
Mr X, a 35 year old civil servant suffering from MS, began to suffer visual problems in his left eye which the hospital wrongly attributed to his MS and failed to treat. In fact he had suffered a retinal detachment and urgent surgery would have saved his sight. He was left with virtual blindness in the affected eye. In a letter of thanks he wrote “[so]… my case has indeed proved to be a life changing event. Look after yourself and keep making sure the medical profession don’t get away with their mistakes!”
• Failing to diagnose a malignant skin cancer
Mr Y, an Immigration Officer, married with two young children, attended his GP on a number of occasions complaining about a mole on his abdomen. The GP wrongly diagnosed it as a benign lesion, inadequately removed it and failed to send it for histology. In fact the lesion was a malignant melanoma which 13 months later had metastasized. Mr Y sadly died only 4 months after the diagnosis was made that he had terminal cancer secondary to the malignant mole. His widow claimed against the GP for negligent treatment. She claimed that adequate treatment i.e. obtaining the histology result, would have significantly increased her husband’s life expectancy. The compensation received has given the family some security for the future, with a significant sum being invested in a Trust for the children.
Linda has been acting for clinical negligence clients since 1990. Over that period she has dealt with all kinds of cases, acting for both children and patients.
Linda qualified as a solicitor in 1988 and joined the Thompsons Nottingham Office in 2000 as a salaried partner. She is a regular speaker on topics relating to clinical negligence and personal injury law.
• These include a number of birth injuries, including Cerebral Palsy, and a number of cases involving the misdiagnoses of cancer which is an area of particular interest.
Gwen joined Thompsons in 1990 and has been representing clients at Thompsons for clinical negligence since shortly after she joined. Since 1995 she has represented clients covering a geographical area of the entire south east, dealing with injuries from the medium to the maximum severity nature.
Gwen is the team manager of the specialist unit undertaking serious injury cases and clinical negligence. She is the offices training officer and attends various seminars in capacities both as seminar leader and representative. Her experience includes local authority and private sector.
Gwen had one of the first periodical payment cases following the changes in the rules in April 2005. She is a member of the Spinal Injuries Association and Headway.
• Gwen has recently represented clients with a variety of claims primarily birth injuries to both child and mother, various missed fractures, knee replacements and treatment resulting in fatalities.
• She has successfully been able to put in place rehabilitation or lifelong care programmes for the benefit of her clients. In relation to one mother injured whilst giving birth, she organised adaptations to her property and a care package which enabled her to have a better quality of life for the long term future.
• For a widow, where her husband died as a result of negligent treatment, she secured a financial package which gave her security for her future.
Charlotta has experience in many areas of personal injury, including multi-track cases, assault cases, industrial diseases and stress cases. Since 2007 Charlotta has devoted her time completely to clinical negligence cases.
Charlotta regularly attends meetings for union officials and has conducted seminars on various personal injury issues. She is fluent in Swedish and also speaks German.
• Charlotta has recently pursued cases involving mismanagement of labour and birth, delays in diagnosing fractures, dental negligence cases, dispensing errors by pharmacists and delayed diagnosis of cancer. She is experienced in handling both high value and fatal cases.
Adam has solely practised in the complex and specialised field of clinical negligence over the past 5 years, investigating claims involving the full spectrum of treatment available on the NHS and through private claims.
Adam has recently secured compensation for a man with untreated periodontal disease and for the death of a new born infant following onset of pheumothorax. Other recent experience includes dealing with all aspects of Orthopaedic surgery, including hip and knee replacements and undiagnosed fractures.
Amielia works in an advisory capacity, interviewing new clients, preparing case reports, advising on funding options, giving advice on complaints procedures, obtaining medical records and instructing experts. She is often the first point of contact in England and Wales for people considering making a claim.
• Amielia is experienced in advising on a range of different cases including delayed diagnosis cases, misdiagnosis of fractures and other medical conditions, complications following surgery, dental cases, and a variety of other medical issues.
Moyo joined the clinical negligence team at Thompsons in April 2007. Working alongside Amielia Campbell-Powell and Sharon Banga, she is often the first point of contact for new referrals for England and Wales.
Moyo works in an advisory capacity, interviewing potential clients, preparing case reports, advising funding options, giving advice on complaints procedures, obtaining medical records and instructing experts.
• Moyo has experience of advising in a range of different types of cases, including delayed diagnosis cases, misdiagnosis of fractures, hospital acquired infections, complication following surgery and dental issues.
Sharon works as the first point of contact for new or potential clients in England and Wales, advising on the many issues related to making a claim, such as funding options, making complaints and obtaining medical records.
• Sharon has recently advised clients with relation to injuries arising from misdiagnosis of fractures and other medical conditions, difficulties during birth, unreasonable delay in diagnosis of different types of cancer, pharmacy dispensing mistakes, complications of surgery and a variety of other medical issues.