Boyes Turner’s medical negligence solicitors secured an out-of-court £200,000 settlement for a 78-year-old man who lost the vision in one eye as a result of delayed diagnosis and treatment of acanthamoeba keratitis (parasitic eye infection). As a contact lens wearer who had recently injured his eye whilst gardening, our client was at increased risk of corneal infection (keratitis) from acanthamoeba, a microscopic organism which is commonly found in soil or water. He attended A&E and was then reviewed on multiple occasions at the hospital’s eye clinic with symptoms and signs of eye inflammation. Despite his increased risk, and acanthamoeba infection being noted in his records as a possible ‘differential’ diagnosis, hospital staff at the eye clinic repeatedly failed to consider, investigate, treat or follow up acanthamoeba infection as a cause for his eye inflammation whilst he underwent numerous unsuccessful treatments for possible viral, fungal and bacterial causes of infection. He was also prescribed corticosteroid eye drops, which were contraindicated as potentially harmful for him as a contact lens wearer with a persisting, significant, unidentified infection. Permanent visual disability from four-month delay in acanthamoeba keratitis treatment The eye clinic’s four-month delay in referring him to a specialist eye hospital for acanthamoeba treatment caused loss of vision in his eye, despite attempts to save his sight with corneal transplants and cataract extraction surgery. Our ophthalmology expert advised that if our client had received correct and timely investigation, diagnosis and treatment of his acanthamoeba keratitis, he would have made a full recovery and retained his vision. Instead, the negligent delay in treating the acanthamoeba infection left our client with no useful vision in his right eye. The blind eye was later removed after it was further damaged in a falling accident owing to our client’s visual disability. The visual impairment caused our client significant disability, restricting his independence and daily activities and affecting his safety. He had to move from his former self-renovated home to a quieter neighbourhood where it is easier for him to cross the road. He is unable to drive and is dependent on others for assistance. The loss of vision and its significant impact on his life caused a psychological injury. Ophthalmology negligence claim leads to out-of-court settlement We pursued our client’s claim and secured a formal apology and admission of liability from the NHS’ legal defence team at NHS Resolution. Before considering our evidence relating the impact of our client’s loss of vision, NHS Resolution made a settlement offer of £55,000 which, on our advice, our client rejected. We provided NHS Resolution with a schedule and supporting evidence of our client’s loss and reopened settlement negotiations, resulting in a £200,000 compensation settlement for our client. The case was concluded and our client’s compensation settlement was achieved without the need for court proceedings. Testimonial Our client’s family kindly commented: “Sita Soni at Boyes Turner has been amazing in helping my dad with his medical negligence case. After being misdiagnosed, he went through a lot of pain and stress, and it was such a difficult time for all of us. From the very start, Sita was kind, patient and understanding, and she always explained everything clearly so we actually knew what was going on. She kept us updated every step of the way and always got back to us quickly whenever we had questions. She genuinely cared about my dad and what he’d been through. It never felt like we were just another case. She pushed things forward when progress slowed and made sure everything was handled properly. Because of her hard work and dedication, the case has now been settled, and we’re so thankful for everything she’s done for us. We cannot recommend Sita at Boyes Turner enough.” Find out more about the liability investigation of this case. If you have suffered severe injury as a result of medical negligence or have been contacted by HSSIB , MNSI or NHS Resolution, you can talk to a solicitor, free and confidentially, for advice about how to respond or make a claim by contacting us.
