£82,500 for delayed diagnosis of Crohn’s disease

We previously reported the circumstances of this matter, following a formal admission of liability by the Defendant (the NHS Commissioning Board, on behalf of her GP surgery, which was an NHS managed practice), in May 2013.

It was admitted that there had been a negligent failure to refer our client to hospital for further investigations regarding her bowel complaints, and that such failure had resulted in an approximate 6 month delay in our client being investigated and diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.

As a consequence of that delay, our client claimed that her Crohn’s had advanced and could not now be managed conservatively (whereas previously it could have been), such that she required an operation to remove part of her bowel, leaving her with a stoma (which is still yet to be reversed due to ongoing bowel inflammation).

Having obtained a range of expert evidence to identify the ongoing injuries and losses suffered by our client, an opening offer of £100,000 was put forward.

The Defendant has initially rejected our allegation that bowel surgery would have been avoided in the absence of the negligent delay in referral, but that argument was ultimately not pursued by the Defendant, and, after much negotiation, settlement of the claim was agreed in the sum of £82,500.

Alex Tengroth, who had conduct of this claim, commented:

I am extremely pleased with the level of settlement achieved in this case, the Defendant having finally taken the claim seriously, and am happy that my client will be able to use the money to improve her life while she continues to cope with the effects of her GP’s negligence”.