Mr X, aged 62, was admitted to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in March 2007 for elective endoscopic insertion of a gastric balloon under sedation, as part of a management plan to treat his obesity.
The surgery was uneventful but by the following day he had started vomiting profusely. Dehydration was incorrectly diagnosed and the clinicians failed to recognise that Mr X was in fact suffering a gastrointestinal bleed. As a result, Mr X sadly died.
Mr X’s widow made a claim against the Trust alleging a number of failures in care, which had lead to her husband’s death.
The Defendant Trust admitted that they had failed to appropriately treat Mr X’s post operative complications following insertion of a gastric balloon. It was further admitted that this breach of duty of care led to Mr X’s premature death.
With the help of her solicitor, Georgina Sheldon, Mrs X received £62,500 in compensation.