Woman sues for clinical negligence compensation after alleged hospital blunder

Posted 29/09/2010

A woman who claims her husband died because staff did not diagnose a serious post-operative condition is seeking clinical negligence compensation.

Martin Butterick, 63, was taken to Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham in order to have surgery on a heart valve in August 2008, BBC News reports.

However, he developed cardiac tamponade, a condition in which fluid builds up in the heart sac and increases pressure on the organ. He passed away four days after the original procedure.

His widow Christina claims medics failed to notice the symptoms of the condition and stated that had they done so and made a surgical incision to relieve the pressure, her husband would have lived.

“It shouldn’t have happened. He could be here today,” she commented.

Ms Butterick is seeking clinical negligence compensation from the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which declined to comment on the case.

Earlier this month, a widow was awarded a payout of £15,000 after her husband died due to drug-related mistakes in hospital, BBC News reported.