Boyes Turner’s medical negligence team obtained a £165,000 settlement for a 65-year-old man who suffered physical and psychological injuries as a result of negligent bowel cancer surgery.Our client was referred by his GP to a colorectal surgeon after a history of rectal bleeding. On examination, a mass was felt in his bowel, so he underwent colonoscopy and surgery to remove the mass (local excision). After the excision procedure, it was unclear whether the tumour had been entirely removed, so our client underwent a low anterior resection procedure (surgery on the lower part of the bowel).After the operation, our client’s health deteriorated with signs of illness including raised heart rate, respiratory rate and white blood cell count, and elevated C-reactive protein levels, with abdominal distention and vomiting. A CT scan revealed a post-operative anastomotic leak (of bowel contents) which should have led to urgent surgery. Instead, the scan result was ignored and over a week later he was finally taken back to theatre where he underwent inappropriate further surgery. His ileostomy did not prevent the continued leakage of faecal material. As a result of the delayed diagnosis of the anastomotic leak and inappropriate surgical procedure our client suffered extensive intra-abdominal sepsis, peritonitis, bladder and urinary problems, a recurrent incisional hernia, ongoing severe bowel dysfunction and a faecal fistula. Over time, he is expected to need further surgery. His long stay on intensive care (ITU/ICU) caused him to develop a critical illness myopathy with muscle weakness in his legs which makes it difficult to walk long distances. He also suffered a psychological injury.We put our client’s claim to the defendant hospital. Shortly after we issued court proceedings, settlement was reached at £165,000 compensation for our client.If you have suffered a serious injury or disability as a result of medical negligence and would like to find out more about making a claim, you can talk to one of our specialist solicitors, free and confidentially, by contacting us here.
