Concern over Blood Clot deaths in hospitals
08/03/2005
May I thank you for the way my accident claim has been handled, after my accident my confidence was very low indeed but the sympathetic handling of my case restored my confidence.
John, Sheffield
A report by the House of Commons Select Committee for Health has this week raised concerns over the number of people in hospital dying unnecessarily of blood clots.
Every year 25 000 people die in England as a result of developing blood clots.
The report looked at what was being done to prevent dangerous blood clots called venous thromboembolisms (VTEs)These include clots in the leg veins; deep vein thromboses (DVTs), which are fatal in about a third of cases left untreated.
The report found that hospital staff are not aware of the extent of the problem, and have no guidelines to help them.
The government has asked the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to look at the problem and report back in 2007.
Nick Gray, specialist solicitor at Alexander Harris, who has been instructed in a number of cases said: "I have several cases where people have suffered a serious blood clot in hospital, which could have been prevented had the right action been taken."
Delay in diagnosing DVT - Susan's story
Susan was 34 when she underwent an operation on her spine. The day after the operation Susan complained of swelling in her left leg. Her leg was assessed by a doctor and it was not thought to be a deep venous thrombosis (DVT). However the doctor advised that Susan should be checked the following day. Unfortunately Susan was not seen the next day and her swollen leg was not examined.
Two days later Susan was diagnosed with an extensive DVT in the left leg. The diagnosis also confirmed that the DVT extended into her groin.
Susan instructed specialist Solicitor Nick Gray to handle her clinical negligence claim for DVT misdiagnosis.
Nick obtained orthopaedic medical evidence which confirmed that the hospital provided Susan inadequate preventative treatment. Due to the delay in diagnosis Susan did not receive any anti-coagulation (treatment for blood clot formation) nor was her leg physically exercised. The evidence also confirmed that there was an unjustified delay in diagnosing the DVT.
Nick also established that with the appropriate treatment the DVT would not have developed in Susan's groin.
Following the delay in diagnosis, Susan suffers with ongoing problems including swelling in her left leg, pain in her calf when walking and the inability to stand for long periods. Susan also faces an increased risk of developing varicose veins and ulcers later in life.
When Nick presented the evidence to the Defendant hospital they contended that Susan would have developed the same problems in any event regardless of the two day delay in diagnosing the DVT.
Nonetheless Nick was able to settle Susan's DVT claim for £16,000. This mainly consisted of general damages (provisions for pain & suffering and loss of amenity) as Susan was able to secure alternative employment for a higher wage than her previous position and therefore there was little provision for special damages (compensation for loss of earnings, opportunity etc).
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