Mr H underwent the surgery and was in hospital for a couple of days. When he was eventually discharged he was given a small amount of medication which unbeknown to him was only going to last him the weekend. He was not provided with any documentation.
Shortly after discharge, Mr H became very poorly indeed in that he had excruciating pains in his legs and also suffered with gastric problems. Mr H consulted his GP about the gastric problems and provided certain medications as a result.
Mr H went on to develop further pain in his left leg and eventually was admitted back to hospital where he was found to have multiple clots in both legs and also in his right groin.
It eventually transpired that the hospital upon initial discharge had failed to send a copy of Mr H's discharge summary to his GP which specifically indicated that he would only have enough of certain medications for the weekend, and that the GP would need to prescribe more once these had ran out. The GP surgery unfortunately did not receive a copy of the Discharge Summary until 7 weeks after discharge due to an administrative error at the hospital (something that the hospital Trust admitted very early on in response to Mr H's complaint).
It was initially thought that the lack of certain medications may have contributed to the further vascular problems suffered by Mr H but medical evidence showed that the vascular problems would have resulted in any event and were not related to the lack of medication.
Mr H's claim therefore was in relation to the effects upon him as a result of him not receiving the medication that he should have done and that he would have done, had he not been subject to an administrative error by the hospital.
Mr H obtained supportive medical evidence from a Pharmacology expert to confirm that the fact that he had no Gabapentin for several weeks will have significantly contributed to the pain suffered in his legs.
Mr H was successful in his claim for compensation against the hospital Trust and was awarded compensation for the unnecessary pain and suffering for several weeks after his discharge.
If you, or a family member believe that you may have been the victim of medical negligence, please contact our team on 0161 665 3502 to discuss further.
