A woman from Colchester has secured compensation from a nursing home for clinical negligence, with the support of clinical negligence specialists Thompsons Solicitors.

Diane Bowden, from Great Bromley, Colchester suffered dislocation of a recently inserted hip replacement as a result of being given the wrong type of chair to assist in a strip wash at the sink.

The incident took place in November 2001 at Beckingham Court Nursing Home, where Mrs Bowden, aged 61, was transferred for rehabilitation following the operative procedure. The case centred on whether the nurse had appropriately assessed if the chair was safe to use.

Kashmir Uppal from Thompsons Solicitors explains: “Because of a lack of specialist knowledge by staff at the nursing home, Diane Bowden had to undergo further surgery, and as a result of compression of the nerve, she has been left with a permanent foot drop which is a significant deformity. The money therefore cannot compensate for this injury, but it will help to secure her future.”

Diane Bowden comments: “I’m very angry that I have been left with this disability as a result of the nursing home’s negligence. The nurse looking after me was not a specialist and had only two years training in general nursing. The compensation Thompsons have secured for me will certainly help me to cope going forward.”