Medical Negligence Settlement for Man after Failed Surgical Implant Causes Electric Shock Agony
27/05/2010
A West Midlands man has received a substantial medical negligence compensation settlement after a failed surgical implant operation left him suffering from multiple fractures and in agony following electric shocks.
Mr. Morgan received a six figure compensation payment after hospital doctors and his GP failed to diagnose the fractures for more than seven months, despite obvious signs including severe bruising and pain. As a result of this 60-year-old Gerald Morgan is permanently reliant on a wheelchair due to deformations in his hips and legs.
Gerald, who is from Kings Heath in Birmingham, was fitted with a spinal stimulator implant which was designed to control the pain that he had suffered from for many years in an operation performed at the Royal London Hospital in October 2004.
Unfortunately, the implant was not successful and caused Mr. Morgan a great deal of pain and suffering. When surgeons turned on the stimulator implant for the first time it caused a huge contraction of Mr. Morgan’s muscles which was similar to an electric shock. The shock caused his body to move out of his wheelchair with such force that it resulted in various fractures to his hips and pelvis.
Medical negligence specialist solicitors, Irwin Mitchell, have criticised the handling of Mr. Morgan's case in which both his GP and Hospital Trust doctors failed to treat him correctly and did not x-ray his injuries. It took more than five years for them to admit liability for Mr. Morgan’s injuries which have left him disabled for life. Mr. Morgan's medical negligence compensation will go towards his ongoing care and medical costs.
Mr. Morgan had previously worked as a heavy goods driver but started to suffer from problems when he fractured his right arm in 1980 and was further diagnosed as suffering from Sudek's atrophy, a condition otherwise known as complex regional pain syndrome.
This condition affected more and more areas of Mr. Morgan's body and he was required to undergo a variety of different procedures in order to try and combat the pain that he suffered.
The surgical stimulator that was implanted in October 2004 was another such procedure to alleviate Mr. Morgan's pain and is known as a lumbar spinal stimulator which was designed to combat the pain that he experiences in his leg and back.
Mr. Morgan recalls: "The next day the stimulator was turned on for the first time and I suffered a massive contraction of my muscles, like a huge electric shock, that threw me out of the wheelchair into a standing position and then back down again, about half a dozen times."
"The machine was turned off and I was in extreme pain and shock, and an anaesthetist prescribed me morphine. The next morning I had widespread bruising around my right side and groin area and I was in terrible pain. Despite this, I was sent home three days later with no further investigations by the hospital."
Medical negligence expert Ally Taft, of solicitors Irwin Mitchell, represented Mr. Morgan in his claim. She said: "After being discharged Gerald was visited by his GP who prescribed painkillers but he was not referred back to hospital for any x-rays despite the physical signs that he had obviously suffered a trauma."
"It was not until May 2005, almost seven months after the operation and after many visits back to his GP and the treating surgeons in London, that he was finally referred for x-rays which diagnosed a fractured pelvis and fractures of both hips."
Following his operation and the subsequent consequences Mr. Morgan was forced to refer himself to a different hospital, the Selly Oak Hospital, where he was referred to the Royal Orthopedic Hospital. Following investigations into his injuries, he was told that the delay in treating his injuries meant that his fractures could no longer be treated and Mr. Morgan was left with permanent deformities in his knees and hips and has been forced to undertake strong levels of painkillers to help with his pain management.
Mr. Morgan's solicitor continued: "The claim was brought against Barts and the London NHS Trust for the way the stimulator was inserted and switched on and for the failure to diagnose his fractures, and against Mr Morgan's GP, Dr Yap of Maypole Health Centre in Kings Heath, for failing to diagnose the fractures.
"Independent experts have advised that the stimulator was inserted too far to the side of Mr Morgan's spine, so it stimulated his motor nerves rather than his sensory nerves, leading to the massive contraction of his muscles which propelled him from the wheelchair he was sitting in following the operation, before dropping him back again with great force.
"Both defendants resolutely denied liability for five years and made only partial admissions in October 2009. We continued to fight on Mr Morgan's behalf and a six figure settlement was finally agreed in April 2010."
The substantial medical negligence settlement will be used by Mr. Morgan to buy a new home, which will be adapted for his needs. Prior to the surgery Mr. Morgan had been able to walk short distances with the aid of a walking stick but now he is permanently wheelchair bound and relies of his wife Dawn and a paid carer to help him with his everyday needs.
Mr. Morgan said: "After a five and a half year battle I remain very angry at the treatment I received”
"I regard the settlement as clear acknowledgement of failings on the part of the hospital doctors and my GP. I hope they both learn lessons from what happened to me so that nobody else has to suffer as I have.
"Although no amount of money will put right the injuries I have suffered, the settlement will mean I can move to a specially adapted bungalow which will make life a lot easier for both me and Dawn."
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