£12,500 settlement for pulmonary embolism sufferer

Posted 23/02/2015

Julie Crossley, a medical negligence specialist at Ashtons Legal, has obtained £12,500 for Mr R after a doctor ignored his symptoms of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) which went on to cause a Pulmonary Embolism (PE). Mr R was initially treated for a fractured ankle at his local hospital in Nottingham and given the standard post-treatment information regarding the possibility of developing DVT. A few days after his treatment he developed calf pain and returned to the hospital to have this checked out. His suggestion of DVT was dismissed and he was told to go home and elevate his leg, which he did. Some 10 days later, however, he began to experience sudden pain accompanied by shortness of breath and returned to hospital, where he was diagnosed with both a PE and pneumonia. This resulted in a hospital stay of over a week, further clinic visits thereafter and continuing problems with shortness of breath for several weeks after his return home.

Julie Crossley comments: “This was totally avoidable. Mr R followed the guidance, correctly identified the problem and acted as advised. If the doctor who saw him had carried out the appropriate tests and treated the DVT, then he could have avoided the PE, its complications and a stay in hospital. The only positive in this case is that the hospital acknowledged the mistake rapidly once Mr R sought legal advice and further time and cost has not been wasted in order to obtain the compensation he deserves.”