5th August 2021 – Our client, a 71-year-old man from Dartford, lost his wife on 09.02.2017 as a result of an angiogram to treat coronary artery disease which was negligently performed at the Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.During the initial part of the angiogram, a dissection was caused to the left main stem artery as a result of the catheter tip being too deeply inserted when the first acquisition was taken (the deep positioning having been missed on a test acquisition).
There was a delay of some minutes in the dissection being appreciated and/or acted upon, which resulted in further intervention not being as swift as it should have been. Despite that delay, the left main stem was adequately repaired by stenting, although the deceased’s condition remained unstable.
In order to achieve the repair of the left main stem artery, access had to be obtained via the right femoral artery. It was discovered that the right femoral artery had been damaged and was the cause of a significant bleed which was compromising the deceased’s condition. Unfortunately, despite attempts to stent the femoral artery, the bleed could not be stopped and the deceased passed away.
We secured expert evidence from a cardiologist that confirmed a range of negligent failings within the angiogram (most notably, the causing of the left main stem dissection) and the subsequent salvage surgery; and confirmed that absent the negligence the deceased would have survived.
A Letter of Claim was served detailing our allegations of negligence, but the Defendant served a Letter of Response denying the claim in its entirety and invited us to withdraw the claim.
However, we remained convinced by our expert evidence, so Court proceedings were issued. Upon serving Court proceedings an offer to settle was made in the sum of £190,000. The Defendant served a Defence which maintained their earlier denial of liability, but they also made an offer of £50,000.
That offer was rejected, and the claim progressed towards the exchange of witness statements. Just prior to witness statements being exchanged, the
Defendant made an improved offer of £100,000. This resulted in further negotiations, and ultimately a settlement was agreed in the sum of £160,000.
Alex Tengroth, senior solicitor at Fairweathers LLP, said “I am very pleased that we managed to achieve a successful settlement in this case, but wonder why Defendants seem unwilling to make admissions at an early stage when it would be most cost-effective for them to do so.”
The family commented “I want to say thank you personally to you and your team for taking on our case when others weren’t interested. In a fragile and uncertain time, you made those early stages easy to understand, we felt supported and well guided through a minefield of complex terminology. This is an excellent outcome.”
If you or your family need the assistance of an experienced team of Clinical Negligence Solicitors surrounding an inquest or civil claim then please do not hesitate to phone us free on 0800 999 5585, request a call back or submit your case details.