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22nd May 2006
Mother's three year battle for apology for son's death
Death from Medical Negligence?
A local mother, Mrs Carol Holland, has been campaigning for three years for an apology from St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust in Prescot, Merseyside, for the death of her 28 year old son due, she believes, to clinical negligence. Her campaign continues with the support of clinical negligence specialists Thompsons Solicitors in Manchester.
Misdiagnosis
Mrs Holland’s son, David was admitted to Whiston hospital in February 2003 with jaundice and diagnosed with alcoholic hepatitis. He died in hospital two weeks later. The NHS Trust has failed to apologise for his death, despite recommendation to do so by the Healthcare Commission, which found there was inadequate care of developing chest infection, which resulted in pneumonia and death. Furthermore, the chest infection was wrongly diagnosed as heart failure and treated with three times the recommended dose of drugs.
Mrs Holland comments: “My family is convinced that there was discrimination against David in respect of offering critical care intervention. Patients like David with alcoholic hepatitis don’t tend to go to ITU, however, David was clearly suffering difficulties breathing as a result of pneumonia.”
The Healthcare Commission concluded that although there is no evidence that trust staff actively discriminated against David, he was not given the opportunity to be considered for a greater level of care because his deteriorating condition was not discussed with the critical care team.
Compensation
Mrs Holland’s case is an example of the type of case that the proposed NHS Redress Scheme will cover. The NHS Redress Scheme is designed to provide a speedy and appropriate response when something goes wrong and provide compensation where appropriate. In the vast majority of cases, the victim (or relative) just wants an apology. Thompsons says the system is already perfectly adequate to provide both that, as an appropriate response, and compensation where appropriate.
Anne Osborn, Mrs Holland’s solicitor at Thompsons comments: “If only NHS Trusts would offer an apology to victims of clinical negligence, they might avoid litigation. The NHS redress bill is providing a more complex solution than is necessary. Mrs Holland would not have taken legal action if the trust had just given her an apology.”
Personal Injury Claim
If you or someone you know has been injured as a result of clinical negligence or medical negligence you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.
For cost-free advice, contact Thompsons Solicitors by completing one of our online personal injury compensation claim forms or by telephoning 08000 224 224.
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