Our client suffered with a wound to her lower leg and, as the wound was not healing, she attended her GP practice. She was assessed by a tissue viability nurse who dressed the wound. Unfortunately over the following weeks the wound worsened and our client developed a leg ulcer.
She was referred to the hospital and required a 6 day inpatient stay, where she was treated with intravenous antibiotics. On discharge from the hospital, our client was meant to have daily dressing changes in the community but there were delays in the tissue viability team seeing our client and then delays referring her to management by the vascular team.
Over the following weeks our client suffered with diarrhoea and vomiting, along with confusion. She presented to A&E and results of swabs taken from her leg ulcer confirmed infection and she had to undergo surgery for debridement of the wound. Post-surgery, there was further deterioration of the wound and she required a further admission to hospital where she underwent superficial femoral artery recanalization.
Within weeks of discharge from the hospital, our client presented to the hospital again and unfortunately she was diagnosed as having multi organ failure, secondary to sepsis, from a combination of chest infection and leg ulcers. Our client sadly passed away.
Alster Kelley Solicitors were instructed by the Estate of the Deceased to pursue a claim for negligence against the hospital. The hospital admitted there were delays with treatment and a failure to provide appropriate interventions that caused our client to suffer pain and which materially contributed to her death. We managed to secure a 5 figure settlement on behalf of the Deceased’s Estate.