Medical Negligence & Personal Injury

Many people who contact us for advice have experienced life-changing events. Our clients include people who have suffered medical negligence and been involved in cases of sexual abuse. 

In my blog on 21 April 2022, I summarised the decision of the Court in the case of Natasha Colley, a contempt of Court committed by the Claimant’s mother and Litigation Friend. This blog focuses on a further judgment for contempt: North Bristol NHS Trust -v- White. The case concerns a claim for clinical negligence for Cauda Equina Syndrome where the Claimant exaggerated the extent of her injuries.

This blog summarises the position when a Defendant submits an application to commit a Claimant’s Litigation Friend for contempt of Court for false statements made in a document verified by a statement of truth.

On 2 February 2022 Mr Justice Richie gave Judgment on Cojanu, a clinical negligence claim where the Defendant advanced a defence of fundamental dishonesty.

Losing a loved one when you think it may be because they received poor medical care is incredibly stressful at a time when family and friends are grieving their loss.  Often, people want to see a written record of the final days of their loved one and what happened to them, or they might want to go through years of records to ascertain whether there was diagnosis that may have been missed, such as cancer.

Last week the Ockenden report was finally published. A team of Midwives and Doctors, headed by Midwife, Donna Ockenden reviewed the maternity care given to 1,148 families between 2000 – 2019. The report made for shocking reading.

Breast cancer accounts for almost 15% of all new cancer cases and affects both men and women.  There are an estimated 150 new cases every day.  Sarah Harding’s death earlier this year was a tragic reminder that breast cancer also affects young and premenopausal women.

Today the Supreme Court has handed down its Judgment in this long-running case, and in plain terms, Lady Brownlie has won the Appeal.

The Supreme Court of England & Wales has this morning decided in Lady Brownlie’s favour, and dismissed the Defendant’s Appeal by a majority of 4 – 1 in FS Cairo v Brownlie.

On 6 July 2021, the Health and Social Care Committee published its report into maternity care in England. The report looks at maternity care across the country and analyses the progress of the Government so far in its commitments to improving maternity care.

Over the summer, the government suggested changes to the Highway Code to improve road safety for vulnerable road users. If the proposals are approved, they will change how pedestrians, cyclists and motorists are expected to behave on Britain’s roads.

According to the Urology Foundation, one in two of us will be affected by a urological condition in our lifetime.

10^th September is World Suicide Prevention Day. Each year, on the same date, communities and organisations campaign on a global scale to raise awareness of the tragedy of suicide and explore ways in which we can all help to prevent it.

When a loved one dies, grief is difficult and there can be a lot to deal with.  If someone dies as a result of medical negligence or personal injury, then it’s important to consider who can bring a claim. 

Whether the claimant or defendant, successful parties to civil litigation can be disappointed to hear that they are highly unlikely to recover all of their legal spend.  The losing party is only required to pay what is considered reasonable and proportionate.  A key feature in what is recovered is the reasonableness of the hourly rates charged by the successful litigant’s solicitors.

An aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition, requiring early diagnosis and treatment. Sadly, classic symptoms are often misdiagnosed or dismissed, which quickly lead to the patient’s death. We have experience of successfully investigating claims of this nature.

Much has been said about the 2020 Court of Appeal judgment in Swift dealing with the disputed method by which claims for the cost of special accommodation following severe injuries are calculated, and rightly so; it was a privilege for one of the authors of this article to work on a case of such wide application and with such benefit for so many Claimants. 

The recent decision in the case of Malik -v- St George’s University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides a further example of this approach.  Mr Malik required emergency spinal surgery in the form of a laminectomy and discectomy at T10/11.  No criticism was made of the performance of the surgery.  Post-operatively Mr Malik experienced ongoing numbness and weakness in his left leg.  His surgeon recommended further revision decompression surgery which unfortunately left Mr Malik with an incomplete paraparesis.  He was classified as a T7 ASIA D paraplegic.

On the 28 July 2021, the Government unveiled the highly anticipated National Disability Strategy (‘the strategy’). Pledged in the Government’s 2019 manifesto, the aim is to “improve the everyday lives of disabled people”. The Prime Minister described the strategy as the most comprehensive, concerted, cross-government plan relating to disability ever. A bold claim, but is it justified?

Chimamanada Ngozi Adichie, celebrated author and feminist talks in Elizabeth Day’s How to Fail Podcast about the death of her father, and then her mother, 9 months later. Adichie speaks very eloquently about the many emotions that grief provokes.