Blog
Rayner my parade! The importance of specialist advice.
Jemma Brimblecombe
Eurydice Cote has recently settled a claim for our client, a woman in her 50’s who we alleged lost sight in her left eye following a delay in diagnosis of Acute Retinal Necrosis (ARN).
Our client attended at the emergency department of St Helier Hospital in January 2020 with a history of 48 hours of pain and blurred vision in the left eye. She was assessed by an Ophthalmologist who diagnosed her condition as blepharitis and dry eye only.
The claim that we advanced for our client, based on independent expert evidence, was that at the time of assessment she was in fact suffering from an early manifestation of ARN. ARN was then not diagnosed for a further nine days. Our client subsequently went on to suffer three successive left retinal detachments. Various treatments including surgery were undertaken but our client sadly lost significant vision in the left eye.
The legal claim had complexities, and the Defendant denied liability throughout. Our position was that earlier treatment would have led to functional vision being retained. However, the Defendant contended that although earlier treatment would have improved the prognosis, they considered that the extent of improvement could not be quantified and there would in any event have been a high ongoing chance of retinal detachments.
Our client was able to continue to work but part of our claim as advanced was an award for her disadvantage on the labour market. Claims were also made for general damages and the future cost of care, equipment and medical treatment.
The claim was settled for £135,000 after the Defendant accepted a time limited offer made by our legal team.
The care and attention to detail that I received from Eurydice Cote has been exceptional. This was reflected in the successful outcome of my case, when the hospital trust agreed to settle. I will always be grateful to Eurydice and to Kingsley Napley for supporting my claim from start to finish."
Client