Full Compensation 4U

NHS hospitals in the North East paid out more than 22 million in clinical negligence compensation in 2009/10, newly-released data shows. The region’s largest trust – the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – paid out the most, with compensations pay-outs totalling more than 7 million. They were followed by City Hospital Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, which had a 4.1 million compensation bill. A combined total of 10.6 million was paid out by the 4 other trusts in the region.

In one of the most high-profile cases, a 43-year-old woman from Durham received 4 million in compensation after her GP and hospital staff didn’t notice she had suffered a haemorrhage, leaving her with acute short-term memory loss for the rest of her life. As a result, she won’t ever be able to return to work, and needs to be cared for 24 hours a day.

62 million was also spent by hospitals in the North East on employing agency and temporary staff, even though there is currently a recruitment freeze in place. Once again, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spent the most, with a 44 million bill for hiring agency/temporary staff. Former Newcastle City Council leader Lord Beecham has called for an investigation into this use of funds, with the North East being second only to London in terms of the amount it spends on agency staff. The current system has also been criticised by union leaders, who point out that frontline staff are being cut and services are being compromised as a result of reduced budgets.

A spokesperson for Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said that only 2% of the total pay bill goes on locum and agency staff, adding that they only use agencies which have been authorised through the NHS National Framework and have therefore complied with NHS pre-employment checks.

In London, the total bill for medical negligence compensation in 2009/10 was 41 million.

If you think you may be eligible to make a clinical negligence claim, discuss your case with expert medical lawyers today.

A vascular surgeon named Nayef El-Barghouty has been suspended from his role at Scarborough Hopsital for 12 months by the GMC. Two bungled operations caused one man to bleed to death and left a woman breathing through a tube for the rest of her life.

Last year, it was revealed that Scarborough Hospital had the highest death rates in Britain for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) operations, which are regarded as a benchmark for standards of vascular surgery. 29% of patients having AAA procedures between 2006 and 2008 didn’t survive, whilst the national average was just 4%. Once this was made public, the Scarborough and North-East Yorkshire NHS Trust withdrew these operations – all of which were performed by Barghouty and one other surgeon at Scarborough Hospital.

Barghouty was found guilty of botching 2 operations and lying to an inquest by the GMC. In 2008, he carried out what should have been a routine operation to remove the thyroid gland of a 42-year-old woman, but, rushing his way through the procedure, he managed to sever both of her vocal cords. As a result, she had to have a tracheotomy to enable her to breathe, and has had to learn to speak from scratch.

Barghouty operated on an 82-year-old man to remove a blood clot from his leg the following year (2009). In the initial operation, he incorrectly tied off an artery and left a swab inside the patient’s leg, meaning he had to operate on him a further two times the same day. He severed a major artery during the third operation, and the patient bled to death on the operating table.

After imposing the maximum suspension on Barghouty, the GMC said it was satisfied this would send out a clear message regarding the clinical standards it expects. The errors were described as “woeful” by a medical negligence expert representing the families involved. He welcomed Barghouty’s suspension, but also said that this added new weight to calls for patients to be given access to individual surgeons’ records, in order for them to see how experienced they are and how frequently their patients have suffered complications.

Find out more about the process for claiming medical negligence compensation.

Given that people spend so much time in their work place and are most active when at work it is no surprise that the majority of all accidents occur whilst at work. If such an accident does occur then employees are entitled to make a personal injury claim. The claim is to help the employee recover over time whilst still being able to afford to manage financially and the claim is paid by the employer’s liability insurance rather than the employer themselves.

The first step to making a claim is to make sure that any accident which occurs at work is reported in the accident work as soon as possible after it has happened. This is an excellent piece of evidence to fall back on in the unlikely case that an employer denies the injury occurred at work as it is immediately making the employer acknowledge that an accident has occurred and that someone was injured.

When sick or injured all employees have a right to take statutory sick pay and so you should take this time to recover but also to assess the accident and who you believe is at fault for your injuries. It might not necessarily be the fault of the employer but you can still make a claim regardless of whether it was or not. The only instance where you will be unable to make a claim is where you have ignored health and safety precautions.

It is up to your employer to make sure that the workplace is clean, tidy and safe for you to work in. The only instance where you may not be eligible to make a claim is where you have not followed health and safety policies and you have acted in an unsafe manner. Once you have assessed that you are not at fault, you should find a reputable solicitor who has a good history of successfully dealing with cases similar to yours.

If possible you should stay in contact with your employer when you are recovering and your claim is being processed. Once you are well enough, you will more than likely return to the same place of work. Employers usually understand when people make claims and they have insurance to cover for such instances. It is very rare but if an employer does discriminate against you having made a claim then you should seek further legal advice as they are doing so unlawfully and can face further legal action.

Make sure you speak to a solicitor who has experience in the field of workplace accident claims.

The NHS Litigation Authority has released new figures which show that medical blunders have cost the NHS 1.2 billion over the past two years. Nearly half of the damages were paid out for mistakes maternity units, which are clearly overextended. Compensation was also paid for cases where patients lost their lives as a result of negligence, and where children were left with severe disabilities such as brain damage.

In the last financial year, NHS trusts paid out 650 million across the country. Compared with the previous 12 months, that was an increase of 15%. Clinical negligence cost London NHS trusts 126 million (a 30% increase year-on-year). The worst record in the capital was held by Barking, Havering & Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, which paid out a total of 11 million – the Care Quality Commission is currently investigating them. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust wasn’t far behind, with annual settlements of 10.7 million.

Campaigners have warned that the Government’s proposed NHS reforms will see standards of care slip further, which will lead to an increase in the cost of litigation. Problems have been attributed primarily to a lack of staff, whilst the rising costs of treatment means that medical negligence payouts are higher now than they were in the past.

A statement was released by Barking, Havering and Redbridge, citing their size and workload as factors that explain why their compensation bill has been so high. They also have one of the biggest maternity units in the country, which, they argue, increases the likelihood of high-cost settlements. An Imperial spokesperson said that the trust “deals with complex cases referred from other trusts in the country such as maternity and vascular surgery, as well as major trauma, and many of these are high risk patients undergoing high risk procedures.”

Regardless of these explanations, numerous lives have been destroyed as a result of botched medical procedures carried out by the NHS.

Get more information on making a clinical negligence claim.

There are jobs which have an element of danger about them and there is only a certain amount which can be done to limit this potential danger. In such cases it is the employer’s responsibility to make the employee aware of the dangers they face and make sure they are comfortable with this before exposing them to the risks. Whether a job is clearly dangerous or not though, there are guidelines laid out for employers to make sure a workplace is as safe a place as possible for employees.

Employees in all positions should be aware of what rights they have if they were to be victim of an accident whilst at work and also what they should do if an accident should occur. Whilst at work you should always follow the correct health and safety procedures when carrying out tasks because if you don’t you automatically give up your right to make a claim as the accident will be seen as your own fault.

If you do have an accident and are injured at work then you are fully entitled to statutory sick pay and time to recover before returning to work. During this time is the best time to make a claim if you wish to do so as the details of the accident are still fresh in your mind and the accident should have been reported by the employer to the health and safety executive. If you can’t face making a claim straight away as you are still traumatised from the accident, you have up to three years to make a claim.

You are fully entitled to make a claim if you suffer a workplace accident and your employer should not try to stop you or discriminate against you for doing so. The claim is to help you pay for any treatment and any additional expenditure you have incurred as a result of the accident. After making a workplace accident claim, you should still be able to return to the same workplace should you wish to do so.

Upon returning to work after making a claim the treatment you receive should remain the same as it was previously. Employers should not discriminate against you for making a claim and they should not need to as they are insured to cover for such instances. If you do face discrimination as a result of a workplace accident claim, you should seek further legal advice regarding the matter.

Get the lowdown on the work accident compensation claim process.