Russell-Cooke's clinical negligence team succeeds in claim against Spire Healthcare Limited

Russell-Cooke's associate Amy Anderson successfully negotiated an out-of-court settlement of £100,000 in a clinical negligence claim against Spire Healthcare Limited.

The allegations of negligence in the claim centred on the hospital’s failure to ‘think sepsis’ when our client re-attended days following an elective gallbladder removal operation with abdominal pain, raised NEWS scores and confusion. Unfortunately, the client had suffered a bile duct leak post-operatively, which was not treated in a timely fashion. Repeat observations were not carried out, which led to a delay in diagnosis of the leak.

The clinical negligence team argued that our client should have received earlier surgical treatment, which would have avoided the development of bile peritonitis. In reality, the delay in diagnosis and treatment of the leak resulted in sepsis, multi-organ failure and a prolonged stay on ICU.

The defendant admitted that the hospital failed to initiate their ‘Sepsis Six’ Protocol and should have escalated our client’s care by organising an earlier transfer to an NHS hospital. The defendant accepted that this caused a delay in our client receiving surgical treatment for the bile duct leak.

As well as a reduction in functional mobility, our client suffered an acquired brain injury, which our neuropsychology expert attributed to an avoidable episode of critical illness and delirium stemming from negligent care. Our client recovered £100,000 in compensation in addition to her reasonable legal costs.

The firm’s clinical negligence and personal injury team advises across a range of issues, and specialises in life-changing injuries.