A 25-year-old man has successfully recovered £285,000.00 in compensation following serious failings by the Royal Derby Hospital.

Our client was a haemophiliac under the specialist care of the Haemophilia Clinic in Oxford.  In 2013 he presented to A&E in Derby complaining of dizziness, difficulty breathing and a racing heartbeat.  Instead of heeding the warnings given by our client, the hospital staff performed a blood test by extracting blood from an artery.  This was despite the client providing the hospital with a copy of his haemophilia card which provided strict instructions for medical staff not to treat our client without first contacting the clinic in Oxford or a specialist haematologist.  Our client was then sent home, regardless of the fact that he was still bleeding.

He returned to A&E later as an emergency patient and was diagnosed with compartment syndrome, caused by the earlier blood test.  He required complex surgery to treat his condition.  The NHS defines compartment syndrome as “a painful and potentially serious condition caused by bleeding or swelling within an enclosed bundle of muscles”.  You can read more about compartment syndrome here.

Our client was left with limited use of his right arm which had a significant impact on his life.  The client and his family complained to the hospital and asked for an explanation.  He was ‘fobbed off’ and the hospital maintained that they had behaved reasonably.  He then contacted us. The hospital admitted medical negligence immediately after we presented the case.

Following detailed negotiations, we settled the case at a Mediation, with the client receiving £285,000.00 in compensation.

Lead solicitor on the case, Nigel Barrowcliff, comments:

“This was a very unfortunate case affecting a young man with a known serious medical condition.  This incident was entirely avoidable had the hospital staff followed their own procedures and alerted their on-call Haematology team.  I am pleased that we were ultimately able to resolve this matter via mediation, avoiding the need to put our client through the stresses of a trial at court.”

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