Settlement obtained for Suffolk woman following delayed diagnosis

Julie Crossley has obtained a settlement for a woman who suffered as a result of a delayed diagnosis of a blood clot in the brain.

Ms K was admitted to the James Paget University Hospital in Great Yarmouth for the birth of her first child. During labour, which included the use of an epidural anaesthetic, she developed a severe headache which continued to persist after the delivery.

A medical registrar diagnosed her with a puncture headache as a result of the epidural, despite an anaesthetist having confirmed that her symptoms did not fit this diagnosis.

Despite her ongoing headache, Ms K was discharged from hospital, however she was readmitted the following day after collapsing at home.

For several days Ms K experienced dizziness, loss of vision and vomiting. She was diagnosed with a tension headache and was once again discharged home.

The next day she was again readmitted to hospital with a severe headache, visual disturbance and weakness. She was referred to the neurology team for an MRI scan which found that Ms K had suffered an extensive blood clot in the brain. She was transferred to Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge where she remained for five days.

The James Paget University Hospital has since acknowledged that the need for an MRI scan should have been recognised several days earlier than it was.

Julie Crossley, a medical negligence lawyer at Ashtons Legal, comments: “This was a difficult case relating to a young first-time mother who was wrongly diagnosed with a post-dural puncture headache which commenced during labour and continued following the delivery of her baby. There was a potential three to four day delay in undertaking a brain scan which subsequently meant that her treatment was delayed and she had to spend further time away from her baby.”