Our client, a woman from Aylesford, Kent, lost her husband in December 2012 (aged 66).
In October 2012 the deceased began to experience chest pain and was taken to Maidstone Hospital. There he was assessed and then discharged home with a prescription for Amoxicillin and no follow-up. Two months later he suffered a myocardial infarction whilst in bed next to his wife. His children attempted to resuscitate him, however this was unsuccessful and he was later pronounced dead. A post mortem confirmed the cause of death to be ischaemic heart disease.
A claim was brought against Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust for failure to identify that the deceased had a cardiac condition warranting further investigation / treatment.
The Defendant admitted breach of duty acknowledging that the initial ECG recording obtained following the deceased’s presentation to hospital was abnormal and indicative of myocardial ischaemia and so he should have been admitted to hospital. The Defendant also admitted that on the balance of probabilities, the deceased would have undergone the correct treatment and so could have avoided the fatal ventricular arrhythmia. An apology was also offered to our client.
The focus was then on obtaining life expectancy evidence, following an investigation by the
NHSLA a negotiated settlement in the sum of £177,000 was made.
Steve Evans, who had conduct of the claim, commented:
Mrs B and her family went through a terrible ordeal but she was brave enough to pursue her legal remedies sensing that her husband had been badly let down by the treating doctors.
She was of course right and this settlement entirely vindicates Mrs B’s belief that her husband would not have died but for the negligence of the hospital trust.