£27,000 for failure to diagnose kidney stones

Posted 16/05/2012

Benjamin Ward, a solicitor in Ashtons Legal’s medical injury team, has secured a settlement of ?27,000 for a woman who underwent substantial pain and suffering when a hospital failed to identify that the kidney damage she had suffered was due to the presence of a kidney stone. Mrs C went to hospital with abdominal pains in 2006 and an ultrasound showed that she had a complete loss of renal cortex (the outer portion of the kidney).This should have been investigated further. If it had been, the stone which was causing a blockage to the kidney would have been identified and Mrs C would have been given the option to have the kidney removed. Instead, over the next two years Mrs C went on to suffer recurrent urinary tract infections and intermittent abdominal pains. In 2008 a second opinion was obtained from a second hospital where a correct diagnosis was made. By this time she required drainage of the kidney before it could be removed.Mrs C initially complained to the PALS team at the defendant hospital who refused to accept they had provided substandard care. She pursued her complaint to the Complaints Ombudsman who advised that as a result of substandard care she should be awarded ?3,000. It was at this point that Mrs C instructed Ashtons Legal to act on her behalf and she has now received appropriate compensation.Benjamin Ward comments: “Thankfully Mrs C had the courage and belief to see this matter through the complaints team at the hospital all the way to the Ombudsman. However, what is slightly concerning is that she could have taken the ?3,000 and let that be and end to the matter. Although Mrs C has now made a good recovery she suffered a torrid couple of years due to the defendant’s negligence and I believe the negotiated settlement of ?27,000 is a fair reflection of what she went through”.