A patient who sustained an injury to his ankle as a consequence of an accident has recovered £350,000 damages.
Our client, who was at the time a child, sustained a deep cut to his ankle. Notwithstanding his attendance at an Emergency Department, the medical staff failed to detect an injury to a tendon which had been caused by broken glass. The cut was stitched, and the patient was discharged to his General Practitioner without further Hospital follow-up. Some 10 days later the patient was referred by his General Practitioner to Hospital once again because of a lack of movement in his toe when he attended for removal of the stitches. The tendon injury was belatedly diagnosed, and the patient was obliged to undergo a delayed secondary repair to the injury. By reason of the delay, the operation was more complicated than ought to have been the case and unfortunately the patient developed an infection in the wound. The patient subsequently underwent multiple surgical procedures to treat the consequences of that infection. That treatment was lengthy, taking place over the course of a number of years. The patient has been left with significant scarring by reason of the injury, although happily he has made a good functional recovery. Unsurprisingly the failure to treat him correctly caused upset and distress.
Patrick Mullarkey was instructed to act on behalf of the patient. Pursuant to an investigation of liability, proceedings were issued on behalf of this patient in 2023 and came to a conclusion in recent weeks. Breach of duty was admitted by the Defendant Healthcare Trust, responsible for the Accident and Emergency Department, in their Defence served in 2023. Medical evidence was obtained in order to document the full extent of the injuries sustained by the patient, and ultimately the parties agreed an amicable settlement prior to hearing of the case. The Plaintiff had the benefit of assistance from the Legal Services Agency during the course of his proceedings.
Our client comments, “From the very start you handled our case with professionalism, expertise and genuine care. The communication throughout the process was very clear and you guided us through every step, providing reassurance along the way. We cannot thank O’Reilly Stewart Solicitors enough for their incredible support throughout our injury claim process. Their knowledge of the legal system was outstanding…Thank you!“
