Error in hip surgery left lady with permanent sciatic nerve damage and unable to walk
An appeal by The Royal Wolverhampton Hospital following a High Court finding against them in a clinical negligence case has been thrown out by the Court of Appeal, with the help of Thompsons Solicitors, medical negligence experts.
June Evans, 79, from Wolverhampton, established in the High Court in May 2014 that a surgeon failed in a hip operation to detect and remove bone cement – a medical sealant - which had escaped from the socket of the hip bone. The Trust, however, would not accept that decision and 18 months later have lost their appeal against it.
Ms. Evans underwent an operation on her hip at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital Trust in 2010. The surgeon’s failings during the procedure left her with permanent sciatic nerve damage, unable to walk and in a huge amount of pain. She needs adaptations to her home in order to make it accessible given her reduced mobility.
June Evans said: “I am in more pain after the operation than I was before. I’ve been in a wheelchair ever since as I cannot walk anymore. Coping with that day to day is bad enough – but it’s appalling that the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital Trust added to my worries by refusing to accept the decision against them in the High Court and forced me to go through an 18 month appeal process before they lost again.
“Trying to cope with the damage that was done to my sciatic nerve has been difficult as I have had no money to adapt my home. The compensation will go some way to helping me get my independence back and I am grateful to Thompsons who have supported me throughout.”
Michael Burrell, a senior medical negligence solicitor at Thompsons said: “This was a clear case of clinical negligence – the surgeon failed to identify the extrusion of bone cement. We were surprised when the Trust decided to appeal and prolong June’s worry and suffering for what turned out to be another 18 months.
“Shockingly even now the Hospital doesn’t accept blame for what happened to June, but thankfully the Court of Appeal agreed with us and the High Court that there had been a clear breach of duty. At long last the Hospital will have to compensate her for their error and June can get the things she needs to make her life easier.”
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