Medical Negligence & Personal Injury

This week is Cervical Screening Awareness Week which is run by Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust. This week aims to reduce confusion about human papillomavirus (HPV), de-mystify cervical screening results and highlight the importance of attending cervical screening appointments. 

We’ve been running trials of E-Scooters in various parts of the UK for nearly a year and London finally followed suit this week in four boroughs with Canary Wharf to follow a little later. 

It often takes many years for victims of sexual abuse to come forward.  Claimants often feel embarrassed, and sometimes even partially responsible, for the abuse suffered. The Truth Project was set up in 2015 as part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to help victims come forwards.  Over 5,000 individuals have since disclosed instances of sexual abuse as part of the Project.  

Kirsty Allen discusses the report produced by The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) which finds that improvements need to be made in outpatient clinics to avoid healthcare teams confusing patients

Spinal Cord Injuries Awareness Day is held annually in May.  It is an annual event run by the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) and their charity partners.  The aim of the day is to raise awareness and understanding the impact and effect of spinal cord injury told through personal stories of those affected.  This year the awareness day has a poignancy about it – with the country coming out of lockdown having spent 14 months coping with the challenges that come with a pandemic, it is a reminder that the challenges the wider community have encountered over the past year are common on-going challenges for those with a spinal cord injury.  For example, difficulties in accessing specialist healthcare services at a time of need and restrictions on accessing the wider community.

According to the most recent NHS statistics 2,500 people are injured or diagnosed with a spinal cord injury every year. Indeed it is estimated  that there are a total of 50,000 people living in the UK with a spinal cord injury of some sort. Unfortunately sustaining a spinal cord injury impacts on every aspect of a person’s life. Often, where everyday tasks are a challenge, returning to work may seem unrealistic. The fact is that employment rates among people with spinal cord injuries remain much lower than the general population.

Spinal injuries are unpredictable and life changing. The location of the injury is key, and generally speaking the higher up the injury in the spinal column, the more severe the consequences. 

This week is Brain Injury Awareness Week. Our team is experienced in representing those who have brain injuries and understanding the impact on our client’s lives.

The spinal cord is made up of nerves extending from the brain. These nerves carry messages to our body. Every function in the body depends on these nerves, from moving, feeling and understanding sensations like temperature, as well as our breathing, blood pressure, bladder and bowel functions.

When surgical treatment of a spinal epidural haematoma is negligently delayed, what neurological and functional recovery a person would likely have had absent the negligence, is often a key battle ground between the parties.

Sports/sporting injuries are the third largest cause of spinal cord injury in the UK. Through the implementation of better health and safety standards in sport, there has been a decrease in the number of spinal cord injuries sustained during sports such as American football, rugby, motor sports and equestrianism.

There are many different causes of spinal injury and the purpose of this blog, is to focus on the biggest cause of spinal injuries. Hard as it is to believe, it is actually individuals falling that makes up the most common cause of spinal cord injury.

A virtual exhibition, titled Survivors: Life Unfiltered, features portraits of individuals in the UK living with chronic kidney disease. The exhibition was initially launched online ahead of World Kidney Day.

In this article, the first of three in a series, we focus on how the vulnerability of the care sector population, the availability of Personal Protective Equipment (‘PPE’) and comprehensive testing, and chronic workforce pressures have contributed to the scale and severity of the impact of COVID-19 in the care sector.

We represent clients who have suffered all types of back and spinal injuries. Sometimes their injury is caused by an incident which by its very nature is likely to result in serious damage, such as a high speed car crash. In other cases the cause may initially appear much more harmless and yet have just as serious consequences.

As a solicitor in the Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury team, I work on many complex cases involving brain injuries. The brain itself, being the ‘all powerful’ machine that it is, has always interested me. The ability and function of the brain is incredible, yet as powerful as it is, it can be very vulnerable and sensitive to injury.

Valuing a cerebral palsy case very much depends on the Claimant’s specific injury and needs. We rely on expert witnesses who assess all the ways in which the Claimant’s cerebral palsy affects them, and prepare a report for the Court setting out their opinion and recommendations.

These are great sports to play, and watching them is a popular national pastime.  However, in recent years there has been an increasing level of concern about injuries in sport  – particularly head trauma leading to neurological disease later in life. 

As the Covid death rate continues to fall, last week One Cancer Voice, which represents 20 cancer charities warned that for the first time in decades the death rate from cancer is likely to rise because of the impact of the pandemic on cancer treatment.

This week from 15 to 23 March 2021 we celebrate neurodiversity and people with neurodivergent conditions. It’s estimated that around 1 in 7 of us are neurodivergent. Find out what neurodivergent is and what the causes are.