Irvings Law obtain £750,000 in Compensation for Client Following Above Knee Amputation

Background

lrvings Law have recently acted for a client (JR) who underwent knee replacement surgery and subsequently developed an infection. Even with attempts to cure the infection, it got to the point where an amputation was the only option to prevent the infection spreading to the rest of his body.

JR had previously instructed a London firm of solicitors who acted for him and investigated the claim, but concluded that he did not have a viable case. He and his wife therefore came to Irvings Law for a second opinion.

In 1998, JR underwent knee replacement surgery on his left leg which he recovered well from. In 2017, he underwent knee replacement surgery on his right leg.

This is where his complications arose, because whilst it is expected that a patient will take a while to recover from such major surgery and that there will be inevitable pain, he would not expect to wake up and find blood from the wound had soaked through the dressings on his knee.

When a district nurse was sent out to check the wound, she was concerned at its presentation so he was admitted to hospital, the infection was discovered and he had a number of surgeries to clean and manage the wound.

Despite these efforts, JR eventually had to have his leg amputated above the knee, which dramatically altered his life in endless ways.

JR should have recovered within months, similar to the experience he had after his first knee replacement surgery.

Instead he is now permanently disabled and has to adjust to a completely different life. Previously he used to be very active and had many hobbies including gardening, bowls, playing snooker, walking and travelling with his wife. But now as an amputee he has really struggled and been unable to enjoy his hobbies.

Representation

JR instructed Simon Brennan to bring a claim against University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. Simon is the Head of the Clinical Negligence team at lrvings Law and is a member of the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme.

Simon and the team at lrvings Law were successful in obtaining £750,000 for JR to compensate for the losses that occurred as a result of the amputation, along with future losses.

This included care costs, travel expenses for hospital appointments/visits, specialist equipment, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and importantly for JR; costs to cover a prosthetic limb and a waterproof limb.

The damages award would have been much higher if he had been working and there had been a loss of earnings claim. However, JR was retired at the time of the negligence and so this kept future losses low.

Irvings Law are happy that we were able to obtain a successful result for JR. The compensation will really help get some parts of his life back to how it was pre-surgery and improve his future.

Can I Start a Medical Negligence Claim?

If you or someone you know has suffered medical negligence similar to JR’s, like a failure to perform surgery correctly or if you have suffered an avoidable amputation, then please get in touch with one of our specialist medical negligence solicitors today.

lrvings Law are specialists in handling medical negligence claims and are committed to securing financial compensation for victims of medical negligence.

We act on a ‘no win no fee’ basis. If your claim is successful, the costs will be paid by the Defendant. If your claim is successful, the costs will be paid by the Defendant. If the claim is not successful, the costs will be written off and you do not have to pay anything.

Contact us today for a no obligation and confidential chat on 0151 475 1999 or Clin.Neg@irvingslaw.com to see how we can help you.