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Archive for the ‘Surgery Claims’ Category

Can I Claim Medical Negligence For A Failed Vasectomy?

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

If you have made the decision to undergo a vasectomy, the last thing you expect is for your partner to fall pregnant. This can raise a lot of difficult questions and you will undoubtedly want to know why it has happened. If a failed vasectomy is to blame, you could be entitled to claim compensation for the damage that the medical error has caused you and your family.

How does a vasectomy fail?

During a vasectomy, the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles to the penis during an ejaculation are cut. This is normally done under local anaesthetic and is considered to be a safe and successful method of permanent contraception.

However, it is not immediately effective as sperm will continue to be present in the semen for some weeks afterwards. Eight weeks after the procedure a semen sample will be tested, and another one shortly thereafter, to check whether it is safe to have unprotected sex. Other means of contraception must be used until two semen tests are shown to be clear.

As long as the operation is properly performed and two clear semen samples obtained, a male should subsequently be unable to conceive. Yet sometimes a vasectomy does fail. This can happen if the tubes which have been cut (known as the vas deferens) naturally join back together. This is called recanalization and nothing can be done to prevent it.

But recanalization is a very rare phenomenon. Normally a vasectomy will fail because of medical error, with the most common problem being that the surgeon did not carry out the procedure correctly, instead cutting another structure such as a ligament. This will mean the vas deferens remain intact, allowing sperm to pass from the testicles to the penis.

Other negligent reasons for a failed vasectomy include:

  • If a patient was not informed of the need to use other means of contraception after the procedure;
  • If semen samples were not sent for testing;
  • If semen samples were said to be clear when in fact sperm were still present.

Claiming compensation for your failed vasectomy

If your vasectomy has failed and you believe medical negligence is to blame, get in touch with us at 1stClaims. We specialise in medical negligence claims and will be able to suggest whether doctors are at fault for your vasectomy failure. If so, we will help you pursue a claim against the individual or organisation responsible, ensuring you are awarded compensation for the unnecessary pain and suffering you have been caused.

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Infection After Caesarean Section

Wednesday, March 27th, 2013

A quarter of all babies in the UK are now delivered by caesarean section. It is becoming increasingly popular, with a 3% rise in procedures from ten years ago.

The reasons for this increase are twofold: firstly, women are now permitted to choose whether they would like a vaginal delivery or a C-section, and secondly, the advances in medicine mean it is commonly regarded as a safe and clean operation.

There are, however, risks associated with caesarean sections, one of which is the possibility that the surgical wound will become infected. But if the right steps are taken, this complication can be prevented.

Preventing a C-section infection

In order to prevent a C-section infection, medical professional must remain vigilant to this risk and assess whether or not a women undergoing a caesarean section could develop an infection. This will be particularly true if the expectant mother is overweight, under the age of 20 or already showing signs of infection (for example, she has a fever).

If there is any concern, no matter how small, that a woman could suffer an infection, she must be given precautionary antibiotics. This is known medically as ‘prophylactic’ medicine, which means that it helps to prevent a problem arising.

Whether or not intravenous prophylactic antibiotics are given, the site of incision must be closely watched by nurses and midwives after the procedure, even when a patient is discharged home. If there is any sign of infection – for example, the wound looks red and is hot to touch – medication should be provided without delay.

As long as preventative medication is given where necessary, and the caesarean section scar is carefully monitored, a patient should be able to avoid the risk of infection.

What if medical professionals fail to prevent an infection?

However, there are occasions when medical professional fail to take the precautionary steps required. Indeed, there are times when the obstetric team does not appreciate the need to provide prophylactic medication, and others when they do not recognise a surgical site infection when it develops. Both situations will amount to medical negligence, as the doctors and nurses will not have provided an acceptable standard of care.

If you have suffered an infection after a caesarean section, you need to question whether you too have been the victim of medical negligence. To find out for certain, the best thing to do is speak to a solicitor who specialises in this area of the law. He or she will be able to advise you further, helping you to establish whether you could be entitled to compensation for the damages you have incurred.

Author: Nicholas Jervis

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Anesthetic Awareness

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

Anesthetic awareness is a rare, but very real phenomenon. For those who have experienced it, it is a scarring and traumatic experience to go through. A collaborative study between the Association of Anesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland and The Royal College of Anesthetists has today published the results of their investigations into the matter in the UK. The study they conducted asked just over 80 per cent of the senior anesthetists in the UK about the experiences they had of patients suffering anesthetic awareness in the previous year. They have found that each year around 150 cases of anesthetic awareness are reported. This means that in every 15,000 operations, 1 person will experience anesthetic awareness.

The amount of awareness experienced during an operation can vary, and serious cases cause patients a large amount of distress both during and following the experience. For example, in 2006 a vicar called Sherman Sizemore experienced anesthetic awareness in which he was paralysed during surgery but could feel the operation occurring. Due to the paralysing drug in his system he was helpless and he could not cry out to alert the surgeons of the pain he was feeling. Tragically Sizemore committed suicide less than a month after his experience. He was experiencing severe psychological complications – he was having trouble sleeping, he believed people were trying to bury him alive and could not be alone. Prior to the incident he had experienced no history of psychological problems, showing just what an overwhelming strong effect a serious case of anesthetic awareness can have on an individual.

Post traumatic stress disorder is also a common consequence of experiencing an episode of anesthetic awareness. Carol Weiher woke up during an operation removing her eyeball, she experienced post traumatic stress disorder after being able to hear and see the operating theatre around her during the operation.

Brain monitoring equipment can prevent anesthetic awareness incidents occurring, but it is not a requirement to use such equipment during operations in America or the UK. However, the possibility to use it is there and it can be used by an anesthetist if they feel it may be necessary. The report published today found the use of this equipment in the UK was found to be very low; with it only being used 2% of the time.

Each year in the UK millions of operations take place. If you are one of the unlucky few who has experienced anesthetic awareness you are likely to wish to be compensated for what you have been through. Some individuals have been awake for part of an operation, some for all, some have experienced feelings of movement or tugging during their operation, some have been able to feel the operation occurring. Whatever you situation is make sure you contact a medical negligence lawyer. It may be found that you have been a victim of medical negligence. For a free initial consultation regarding your experience, give 1st Claims a call on 0800 2888 693 or fill in an online enquiry.

Author: Nicholas Jervis

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Top 5 Worst Medical Negligence Cases

Friday, February 8th, 2013

When we are in ill-health, we put our faith and trust in medical professionals to help and comfort us through what could be a very distressing time. Under extreme pressure on a daily basis, medical professionals are like anyone else, and can make mistakes, often without realising them, until it’s too late.

Below are some of the most devastating medical negligence cases to date:

Wrong Leg Removal

During an amputation procedure in 1995, surgeon at the University Community Hospital in Tampa mistakenly removed the wrong leg of patient, 52 year-old Willie King. It is believed that the wrong leg was prepped for the operation. During the surgery it became apparent that the surgeon and his team were amputating the wrong leg, however it was too late to rectify.

As a result of the surgeon’s negligence, King received $900,000 compensation from the University Community Hospital and a further $250,000 from the surgeon who performed the operation.

This medical negligence case prompted a new wave of precautionary measures at the Tampa hospital to prevent any other devastating cases happening in the future.

Healthy Lung Removal

In 1995, Lawrence Ball underwent a lung removal operation after being diagnosed with lung cancer. After complaining to his doctor of chest pains, Ball was referred to NHS Grampian who later told Ball that his left lung had a cancerous tumour. The operation to remove the tumour took place in Aberdeen’s Royal Infirmary. Sadly, Ball’s ordeal wasn’t over. After the operation, Ball was told by surgeons that there were no traces of cancer in his lung and the removal was a complete mistake.

Originally a fire-fighter, 58 year-old Mr Ball has lost his job as a result of the operation as well as many healthy years of retirement.

Birth Injury

In 2012, 11 year-old Milly Evans received £10.8 million in compensation after suffering from devastating injuries at birth, thought to be one of the highest medical negligence pay-outs to date. In 1991, Milly was born in Lincoln County Hospital where she was transferred to the neo-natal unit, later undergoing resuscitation and also suffering from seizures.

Parents Andy and Kate Evans believe that if Milly’s heart had been properly monitored, nurses would have been able to spot her fetal distress sooner, allowing Milly to be delivered earlier, avoiding the catastrophic injury she suffered.

United Lincolnshire Hospital NHS Trust offered a complete apology to Milly Evans at the High Court, taking full responsibility for Milly’s injury.

Milly suffers from cerebral palsy and requires 24 hour care. She is unable to speak and can only communicate using a sophisticated eye-gaze machine. Confined to a wheelchair Milly needs help with every aspect of daily living.

Anesthetic Awareness

Although extremely rare and almost never heard of, anesthetic awareness is one of the biggest phobias for patients about to undergo surgery. Anesthetic awareness causes the patient to enter an altered state of consciousness, causing them to feel everything.

Unfortunately for 73 year old Baptist Minister Sherman Sizemore, he found himself fully conscious 16 minutes into his operation, unable to communicate or move. It is believed that anesthesiologists caring for Sizemore did not administer the appropriate drugs which would render him unconscious.

After the unthinkable ordeal, Sizemore suffered from severe traumatic stress and excruciating pain unable to shut out the horrifying ordeal that haunted him. Sadly two weeks after the operation, Sizemore committed suicide.

Anesthetic awareness can have profound effects on patients, often lasting the rest of their lives. Due to traumatic stress, patients are haunted by doubts that the pain they experienced was real. This causes many patients to suffer in silence, avoiding telling doctors, family and solicitors of what they had experienced.

Deliberate Medical Negligence – Harold Shipman (Dr.Death)

This is probably one of the worst cases of medical negligence, simply because the negligence was inflicted on purpose. Over the course of his career, it is believed that Dr Shipman murdered more than 250 people; approximately 80% of his victims were women.

Dr Shipman was convicted in Preston Court in 2000 for the murder of 15 elderly patients with lethal injections of morphine. This conviction triggered a whole new investigation more horrifying than anyone could have ever imagined.

Shipman later committed suicide in his cell at Wakefield Prison in 2004.

Author: Nicholas Jervis

Posted in Medical Negligence Claims, Misdiagnosis, Surgery Claims | No Comments »

Bunion Surgery Negligence

Wednesday, February 6th, 2013

If your bunion has been causing you excessive pain, you may have decided to undergo surgery to have it corrected. But what are your options is the operation has left you with more complications than when you started? Have you been the victim of medical negligence? And can you make a claim against the surgeon responsible?

Claiming compensation for negligent bunion surgery

A bunion is when the joint at the bottom of the big toe becomes deformed and sticks out the side of the foot. It is a common condition, although it is still unclear as to why bunions actually form. However, it may have something to do with genetics, arthritis or poorly fitting shoes.

What is known is that a bunion will begin to develop when the big toe begins to angle inwards towards the middle of the foot. As this continues over time, the bones in the foot will become misaligned. In turn this will cause the joint at the bottom of the toe – called the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint – to protrude from the side of the foot. At this point someone is said to have a bunion (known medically as a hallux valgus.)

Bunions can be extremely painful: partly due to the misalignment of bones inside the foot, and partly because the protruding MTP joint will be uncomfortable in shoes. They can be treated via non-surgical means such as bunion pads and orthotics, but surgery is in fact the only way to correct a bunion. Therefore if the deformity is causing you severe pain, you may be advised to undergo a surgical procedure.

There are various surgical procedures used to correct bunions, and the type of surgery will be determined by the patient and the extent of their misalignment. One of the most common types of bunion surgery is an osteotomy, whereby the bone sticking out from the foot is removed and the bones moved back into place. The MTP joint will also be corrected.

It can take around three or four months for a patient to recover from bunion surgery, after which many report a vast improvement in symptoms. But sadly there are people whose condition actually deteriorates because the procedure has not been performed to an acceptable standard. This might happen if too much bone is removed, if pins and screws are inserted in the wrong place, or the nerves are severed during surgery.

Whatever the reason, negligent bunion surgery will lead to terrible complications for the individual concerned who may require further operations. It may even be that the patient is not able to regain the function he or she once enjoyed. If this has happened to you, in that your condition has been made worse due to poorly performed bunion surgery, contact us today at 1stClaims to discuss claiming compensation.

Author: Nicholas Jervis

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Surgeon Suspended After Botched Breast Cancer Operations

Thursday, November 8th, 2012

A surgeon is currently under investigation by police after it emerged he performed unnecessary or inappropriate breast cancer operations on as many as 1,000 women in the UK.

Breast cancer specialist Ian Stuart Paterson, is suspected to have misdiagnosed at least 450 women with breast cancer when they were completely healthy, performing ‘lumpectomy’ surgery in NHS and private hospitals in the West Midlands.

The NHS hospitals Mr Paterson practiced at were Solihull hospital, Heartlands hospital and Good Hope hospital. He also performed procedures in a further two private establishments in the area, identified as Spire Hospital Parkway and Spire Hospital Little Aston.

Mr Paterson had been practicing since 1994, and was found to breach guidelines causing the General Medical Council to suspend Mr Paterson last year.

The ‘rouge surgeon’ has also been suspected of performing ‘cleavage-sparing’ mastectomies on 700 women, despite the procedure not being sanctioned in the UK.

During a cleavage-sparing mastectomy the excess breast tissue is not removed purely for cosmetic reasons. However, national guidelines state that the breast tissue must be removed to avoid the risk of cancer returning. In effect, Mr Paterson’s botched operations have left more than 700 women fearing their cancer will return.

It is reported that around 90 women are currently in the process of making compensation claims against the Heart of England NHS and Spire Healthcare.

Many women feel betrayed and traumatised by Mr Paterson’s treatment. They are hoping to receive compensation and want to see Mr Paterson face criminal charges.

The Heart of England NHS and Spire Healthcare have since apologised for the devastating ordeals.

Mr Paterson’s practices are still being investigated in conjunction with the General Medical Council and the NHS Trust.

Here at 1stClaims, we truly sympathise with the women involved at this difficult time. We understand their frustration and anger and hope that they can find closure and move on living a perfectly healthy life.

If you have been involved in a similar incident where you feel you have been misdiagnosed by a medical expert, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our friendly and approachable medical negligence solicitors.

Fill in our completely free, no obligation enquiry form and one of our medical negligence solicitors will contact you to explain your legal rights.

Author: Nicholas Jervis

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Posted in Medical Negligence Claims, Misdiagnosis, Surgery Claims | No Comments »

High Risk Surgery Patients

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

For More Information On Surgery Claims Click To See Our Surgery Claims Section On The Website »

Around 10% of surgical procedures carried out in the NHS will involve high-risk surgery patients. However, a recent report has revealed that these patients make up 80% of surgery-related deaths.

Evidently, high-risk patients will be more prone to suffering difficulties. They may be deemed high-risk because of various health conditions (including as diabetes or heart disease), while age and weight can also be a contributing factor. When a patient has such problems, it is reasonable to presume that he will face an increased chance of surgery-related complications.

Nevertheless, the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death who carried out the research described the findings as “disturbing”, indicating that something other than additional health issues is to blame.

(more…)

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