Compensation recovered for burn sustained at hospital

Meg Pratt, specialist clinical negligence lawyer, acting for the claimant, successfully recovered compensation for a burn sustained during treatment at hospital.

Mrs D was admitted to hospital for a hysterectomy. After coming around from recovery, a large burn was noted to her lower abdomen.

The burn became infected and Mrs D suffered a prolonged recovery, requiring frequent dressing changes and input from the tissue viability service over a period of 3 months. Once healed, Mrs D was left with a 5cm x 5cm scar and discomfort to the area. She remained self-conscious of the scarring.

The defendant undertook an internal investigation and, while acknowledging the burn occurred whilst Mrs D was under their care, could not establish the cause of this.

The specialist clinical negligence team were instructed to bring a claim for compensation and did so on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.

Mrs D’s case was put to the defendant in a formal letter of claim, alleging that her treatment fell below an acceptable standard, and was negligent, in causing or allowing an injury to be inflicted to her lower abdomen whilst under the hospital’s care.

The defendant denied liability, insisting the claimant prove specifically how her injury occurred, despite their own investigations being unable to determine this. Given the limited information available within the medical records, expert input was obtained from a plastic surgeon to establish the most likely cause of the burn, based upon its location and appearance. A robust response was put to the defendant, setting out the most likely timeline and cause of events, alongside an offer to settle Mrs D’s case.

No admission of liability was ever made; however, the defendant engaged with settlement proposals and the specialist clinical negligence team successfully negotiated an out-of-court settlement of damages to compensate Mrs D for her pain, suffering and loss of amenity, bringing the claim to a resolution without the need to issue court proceedings.

Meg Pratt  specialises in personal injury cases.  If you would like to ask Meg a question about a potential case, or if you have a general query about any clinical negligence, contact Meg Pratt at Thomson Snell & Passmore solicitors on 01892 701197 in confidence. We offer no win no fee agreements on the vast majority of our clinical negligence and personal injury cases.