Carol’s nerve injury claim settled for €750,000

3 minute read

In this very unusual case, Carol attended Hospital for breast reconstruction surgery following a mastectomy due to a cancer diagnosis. Some complications arose during the surgery which meant that it continued for longer than anticipated.

During this time, Carol was folded in a “V” Position to make the surgery easier. Following the surgery, she had severe pain in both of her legs and had ongoing difficulties since the procedure, particularly in her right leg.

Doctors struggled to agree on a cause

The pain was so severe that Carol was unable to return to work full-time or to carry out any of her normal hobbies or activities. She had a lot of medical investigations to try to find the cause of these problems. It was a complex situation and the different doctors struggled to agree on a cause, but it was generally accepted that her injury arose immediately after and was likely associated with her surgery.

Due to the type of surgery and the long duration of it, Carol had to have pressure padding on various areas of her body where her nerves might otherwise be damaged due to pressure on them during the operation. It appeared that the pressure padding to her lower limbs had slipped during the procedure so that she was not adequately padded and suffered significant nerve damage as a result.

Carol’s symptoms are considered to be permanent.

Carol initiated a clinical negligence claim

Carol contacted our firm as a result of a word-of-mouth recommendation given to her by another Solicitor. Joice Carthy was instructed with the case.

Several reports on liability were needed to show that Carol’s injuries were caused due to substandard care. It was difficult to say exactly what happened during the operation, as the notes around it were very poor, but Carol’s medical experts were of the view that the injury arose from substandard care due to the lack of adequate padding during the procedure.

Further expert reports were obtained

In addition, approximately thirteen reports were taken up from experts dealing with the extent of Carol’s injuries and her future needs. These included reports from Neurophysiologist, Neurologists, Peripheral Nerve Surgeons and Pain Management experts.

Proceedings were issued but the Defendant did not admit wrongdoing and a Trial date was fixed

A couple of weeks before the Trial was due to commence, the Defendant Hospital indicated they were willing to meet to try to mediate the case. This mediation took place only a week before the Trial date and the matter settled in the sum of €750,000, without an admission of liability.

A significant part of this claim related to Carol’s loss of earnings, as she had never been able to return to work on a full-time basis which had a significant impact on her family’s finances, so she was very happy with the outcome.

Speak with a clinical negligence solicitor

If you have suffered due to clinical negligence of any kind, you could be entitled to compensation. You can learn more about our expert services at Medical Negligence Claims or Contact Us to speak with an expert.

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The name referenced throughout this case study is a pseudonym that has been put in place to protect the client’s privacy.