Call (0115) 931 51 71 to talk to us about your situation
Barratts Legal
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Facebook
  • Welcome
  • Why Choose Us?
    • Who We Are
    • Our Approach
    • Our Team
    • Case Studies
    • News
    • FAQs
  • Clinical Negligence
    • Clinical Negligence Team
    • Case Studies
      • Birth injuries Case Studies
      • Brain Injury Case Studies
      • Misdiagnosis and Missed Diagnosis Case Studies
      • Surgical and Orthopaedic Errors Case Studies
      • DVT and Vascular Case Studies
    • Related News
    • Related Links
    • Birth Injuries
    • Spinal Injuries
    • Diagnosis Errors
    • Inquests
    • Funding Your Claim
  • Personal Injury
    • Personal Injury Team
    • Case studies
      • Spinal Injuries Case Studies
      • Brain Injury Case Studies
      • Road Traffic Accident Injury Case Studies
      • Workplace Injuries Case Studies
      • Industrial Disease Case Studies
      • Orthopaedic Injuries Case Studies
      • Mental Health Case Studies
    • Related News
    • Related Links
    • Head Injury
    • Subtle Brain Injury
    • Spinal Injuries
    • Inquests
    • Funding Your Claim
  • Criminal Injury Compensation
    • Criminal Injury Compensation Team
    • How we can help
    • Case studies
    • Spinal Injuries
    • Head Injury
    • Subtle Brain Injury
    • Funding
    • Inquests
  • Court of Protection
    • Court of Protection Team
    • The Work of a Deputy
    • Case Studies
    • Funding
  • Fatal Claims & Inquests
    • Inquests Team
    • The Inquest Process
    • Case Studies
      • Inquests Case Studies
      • Fatal Claims Case Studies
    • Funding
  • Contact
  • Menu Menu

Pulmonary Embolism – why you need to act quickly.

January 7, 2022/in Clinical Negligence News, Frontpage News, Inquest News, News /by Alison Brooks

In 2018  Paul* contacted Alison Brooks to investigate a claim following the death of his wife, Mary*, in December 2017. She was only 64 years old and had died because of an undiagnosed Pulmonary Embolism (“PE”). This is when a blood clot develops in a pulmonary artery, often when the clot has started as a DVT in the leg. It is easily treatable because anti coagulants are given which break down the blood clot.

Paul knew about Legal 500, an independent legal guide which recommends lawyers in the UK , who are experts. Paul contacted Barratts Solicitors, because we are ranked in the top tier for clinical negligence claims, and asked Alison to help him investigate the death of his wife. He knew that he needed someone with experience to help, as the GP involved in Mary’s care, had denied that he had done anything wrong.

The Facts

In October 2017, Mary had undergone foot surgery and was recovering from the operation but, on 1st December, she began to feel breathless. Paul called the GP surgery and Mary was seen by a doctor who carried out some tests. Despite noting that PE was a possibility, he decided that Mary probably had bronchitis, a condition she had previously suffered from, and prescribed antibiotics.

Mary continued to feel unwell but believed she would soon feel better with the antibiotics. Tragically, in the early hours of 3rd December, Mary collapsed from a huge Pulmonary Embolism. Paul was trained in First Aid and tried to resuscitate his wife, but it was too late, and nothing could be done to save Mary.

The Claim

Paul wanted to ensure that the GP would not make the same mistake again, but the GP did not accept that his assessment of Mary had been negligent. Alison recognised that Paul was also suffering because of the traumatic circumstances of Mary’s death and might be able to claim compensation for his psychiatric illness. This is called a “secondary victim” award and can be hard to prove in medical cases because of restrictions in the law, which limit who can make a claim.

Paul was also suffering financially as he had his own health problems and relied on Mary to look after him. A claim for the support, that Mary would have provided to Paul, was made, as well as an award for her pain and suffering and funeral costs. When someone dies, the Government also sets a fixed amount for bereavement damages. This was £12,890 under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 for deaths before 1 May 2020.

The Defence

A claim was issued against the GP who saw Mary on 1st December. We argued that the Defendant:

  • Should have carried our further tests for PE, at home or in hospital – the Wells score was developed by NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) and any result over 4 means a PE is likely; Mary’s score was 4.5.
  • Failed to properly inform Mary and her husband that Pulmonary Embolism was more likely than a chest infection and was potentially fatal if left untreated.
  • Did not follow up with Mary and falsely reassured her by prescribing antibiotics.

The Defendant argued that he did not refer Mary to hospital because she had refused to go in for treatment. A small note in the GP records stated:

Plan; offered admission for PE -patient declined.

The Defendant tried to rely on this entry, but we believed that a Court would not have accepted this defence because:

  • Mary had not refused medical treatment before and it would have been irrational for her to refuse admission to hospital, for a potentially fatal condition, if properly informed.
  • Paul was present during the examination, and the ambulance records showed that he also believed Mary just had a chest infection.
  • A GP with a patient refusing life threatening treatment would have made a very full note to explain the patient’s decision but the Defendant’s note was sparse.
  • If the Defendant was correct, Mary could still have been treated in the Community without going to hospital but the GP did nothing.

The Defence agreed that Mary would have survived if admitted to hospital any time on 1st December. This meant the case would succeed if we could show the GP had not provided a reasonable standard of care.

The GP continued to defend the case but we proposed a settlement meeting in 2021 and were able to settle the case with very little deduction for the risk of losing the case at Trial. This indicated that the Defendant’s advisers probably took a similar view to us about the case.

This has been a very difficult few years for Paul. He will never forget Mary; they were married for 18 years. Paul was disappointed that the GP never admitted any fault for Mary’s death, but he has recovered from his own psychiatric illness and has a new partner. Paul agreed to share this story as he wanted to highlight the risks of DVTs and Pulmonary Embolisms for others, in the hope that someone else recognises the signs and can be treated before it is too late.

*Please note that the clients’ names have been anonymised.

NHS EARLY NOTIFICATION SCHEME FOR BIRTH INJURIES

July 22, 2021/in Clinical Negligence News, Frontpage News, Uncategorized /by Alison Brooks

 

Exterior of NHS building

In April 2017 the NHS launched the NHS Early Notification Scheme (ENS) to deal with investigations in relation to serious brain injuries suffered by babies at birth. The scheme is designed to speed up investigations to determine whether or not a baby is entitled to receive compensation. It was also set up to ensure that lessons are learned to improve maternity care and avoid future avoidable cases of babies with brain injury. The scheme aims to make maternity and neonatal services safer and to encourage openness and honesty on the part of Hospital Trusts. Read more

Nottingham Maternity Services “Inadequate”

December 9, 2020/in Clinical Negligence News, Frontpage News, Inquest News, News /by Alison Brooks

The Care Quality Commission have downgraded Nottingham Maternity Services to “inadequate” following an unannounced inspection at the Queens Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital.  The inspection concluded that some staff  “did not always understand how to keep women and babies safe“.  Many of the problems arose due to staffing shortages or lack of training.  The Hospital Trust have subsequently confirmed that they are recruiting extra midwives. Read more

Living With Spinal Cord Injury

November 18, 2020/in Clinical Negligence News, Frontpage News, Personal Injury News, Uncategorized /by Alison Brooks

Living with spinal cord injury is tough. We have represented clients, paralysed by spinal cord injury (SCI), for over 30 years and we have tackled many different types of claims. Read more

Missed Chances To Save Diabetic Patient

November 12, 2020/in Clinical Negligence News, Frontpage News, Inquest News /by Alison Brooks

Julie Hardy, a clinical negligence specialist, was contacted by the family of Marie Henson, a diabetic patient. Marie was only 53 years old when she died from diabetic complications which were missed in the Newark Urgent Care Centre. Her family spoke of their loss and told local newspapers that their “wonderful mother should still be here”. Read more

Best Clinical Negligence Lawyers in Nottinghamshire

October 29, 2020/in Clinical Negligence News, Frontpage News, News, Uncategorized /by Alison Brooks

This was the independent finding of Chambers and Partners, which ranks firms all the over the world to identify the leading lawyers in specialist areas of law. This reduces the risk of placing your claim with an inexperienced solicitor and ensures you can rely on thousands of interviews carried out by Chambers to assess law firms. Read more

£35,500,000 compensation for David’s clients in 7 months

August 25, 2020/in Frontpage News, Personal Injury News, Uncategorized /by Alison Brooks

We are a modest group of lawyers at Barratts but we had to shout out about our amazing personal injury solicitor, David Tomlinson. Read more

The Cost of Medical Negligence

January 21, 2020/in Clinical Negligence News, News, Uncategorized /by Alison Brooks

Latest reports from the NHS indicate £89 billion is due to be paid for claims. What are the facts? Read more

Barratts Recover over £85,000,000 in Compensation for our Clients in 2019!

December 20, 2019/in Clinical Negligence News, Frontpage News, Inquest News, News, Personal Injury News /by Alison Brooks

 

Quality

It has been a record breaking year for us here at Barratts. Our Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence lawyers have recovered compensation of nearly £86,000,000 on behalf of our clients. We feel this is a remarkable achievement for a firm which has only 6 litigation solicitors. Read more

All Barratts’ Partners Recognised For Personal Injury And Clinical Negligence Work

October 16, 2019/in Clinical Negligence News, Frontpage News, Inquest News, Personal Injury News, Uncategorized /by Alison Brooks

Chambers is a highly reputable independent legal guide which ranks firms all over the world. In Nottinghamshire we are proud to be named as one of only 2 firms recognised for Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence claims. Barratts only has senior expert lawyers to handle this extremely complex area of law which means clients have a dedicated, specialist lawyer to advise throughout their compensation claim . This is vital for clients facing one of the most traumatic times of their lives coping with brain injury, spinal injury, cerebral palsy and fatalities.

Our partners have again all been individually recognised for their expertise which is an amazing achievement. Here is what Chambers reported:

Personal Injury Department

Sources praise department head Ed Myers for delivering an “excellent service.” He is an experienced practitioner in brain and spinal injury claims, as well as representing clients in CICA cases.

David Tomlinson is recognised as “a go-to person for top-value claims.” He is noted for acting in highly complex claims involving catastrophic injuries resulting from RTAs.

Clinical Negligence Department

Alison Brooks has experience in medical negligence inquests and cerebral palsy cases. Sources are impressed by her “good technical knowledge and experience, clear instructions and focused follow-up.”

Julie Hardy is “outstandingly personable, an extremely good communicator, very tenacious and a delightful person all round,” according to interviewees. Hardy demonstrates expertise in fatal incidents relating to mental health and negligent care cases, as well as high-value birth injury and surgical negligence matters. She is valued by clients for being “passionate about reaching the right outcome,” with one source adding: “She made it very easy to get through the case and had my best interests at heart at all times.”

The “immensely supportive, calm, organised and informative” Emma Zukowska demonstrates expertise in complex birth injury and surgical error cases. Interviewees also note: “She has very good medical and legal knowledge, as well as good judgement.”

Thank you!

Thanks go to all our hardworking staff who make it possible for us to support our clients coping with traumatic injuries. We also recognise the extraordinary clients we have met over many decades who not only cope with adversity but manage to overcome appalling circumstances. Compensation does help to rebuild lives by putting therapy, care and treatment in place. We are a small piece of that puzzle but making a real difference is what keeps our lawyers fighting for injured clients.

Page 1 of 212

News

  • Thank YouApril 28, 2022 - 3:02 pm
  • Legal advicePulmonary Embolism – why you need to act quickly.January 7, 2022 - 10:56 am
  • Straight road with future datesThirty Years And Continuing….December 15, 2021 - 11:07 pm
  • Spinal injury or painMental Health After Spinal Cord InjuryDecember 7, 2021 - 11:38 am
  • Guidance, Assistance, Support signpostCharities at ChristmasNovember 30, 2021 - 3:53 pm
  • Number 1 in a starTop For Clinical Negligence and Personal InjuryOctober 29, 2021 - 1:43 pm
  • Legal 500 top tier 2021CELEBRATING BARRATTS REVIEW BY LEGAL 500October 1, 2021 - 12:55 pm
  • QualityPromotions at BarrattsSeptember 23, 2021 - 12:24 pm
  • Disabled boy in a wheelchair on the beachNHS EARLY NOTIFICATION SCHEME FOR BIRTH INJURIESJuly 22, 2021 - 6:17 pm
  • Barratts solicitors news“Devastating Evidence” From Families at InquestsMay 27, 2021 - 2:38 pm
  • Wheelchair rugbySpinal Cord Injury Awareness Day is Today!May 21, 2021 - 1:22 pm
  • Disabled boy in a wheelchair on the beachNottingham Maternity Services “Inadequate”December 9, 2020 - 7:51 pm
  • Girl living with spinal cord injury needs a wheelchair in a carLiving With Spinal Cord InjuryNovember 18, 2020 - 6:33 pm
  • Nottingham Coroner's CourtMissed Chances To Save Diabetic PatientNovember 12, 2020 - 5:08 pm
  • ConsistencyTop Tier for Personal Injury Litigation in NottinghamshireOctober 29, 2020 - 12:43 pm
  • Number 1 in a starBest Clinical Negligence Lawyers in NottinghamshireOctober 29, 2020 - 12:14 pm
  • Legal 500 top tier 2021East Midlands Top Tier for Personal Injury and Clinical NegligenceOctober 7, 2020 - 5:05 pm
  • Signpost to help, support, advice, guidanceCosts At Inquest RecoveredSeptember 29, 2020 - 5:26 pm
  • David Tomlinson lawyer, Barratts Solicitors£35,500,000 compensation for David’s clients in 7 monthsAugust 25, 2020 - 9:32 pm
  • injury prevention week - car reversing lights awareness campaignAPIL’s Pedestrian Safety CampaignAugust 7, 2020 - 10:03 am
AvMA accredited
SIA member
Head Injury Solicitor
Legal 500 leading firm
Corporate Headway member
Chambers top ranked firm
Clinical Negligence Accreditation
Brain injury group
APIL accredited practice

Barratts

Legal Notices
Cookie Policy
Complaints Policy
mail@barratts.legal

Tel: 0115 931 5171

Barratt Goff & Tomlinson Limited, trading as Barratts Solicitors, are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
No. 524015
Copyright Barratt Goff & Tomlinson Limited 2017

Opening Hours

Mo-Th: 9:00-17:00
Fr: 9.00-16.00

Out of hours appointments are also available

Terms of business

Download our terms of business

© Barratts Solicitors
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Facebook
Scroll to top