Police Officer Claims Leg Amputated Unnecessarily
03/03/2010
A police officer has launched a legal bid against a hospital after an undiagnosed condition led to the amputation of his leg.
Pc Miles Wilson claims doctors failed to spot an artery blockage during treatment at Southampton General Hospital.
He is suing the hospital for compensation after claiming that the failings in his treatment led to his leg being amputated unnecessarily.
The 37-year-old ended up in hospital after falling and hurting his knee while answering an urgent call for assistance last November.
He claims that doctors gave him a inadequate diagnosis and told him there would be a five-day wait for an MRI scan because of a hospital backlog.
Pc Wilson said: "I am in a lot of pain and get regular attacks of phantom limb pain. I would describe this as an electric pain where I feel my foot should be. I am trying to stay positive. However, I am finding things incredibly frustrating.
"Doing ordinary daily things is difficult, everything takes a long time. Nothing is easy anymore. It is very hard to think that the need for amputation might have been avoided."
Hospital bosses said an internal review into the care of Pc Wilson is under way.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Auriana Griffiths from law firm Irwin Mitchell said: “We see cases such as this time and time again unfortunately, including misdiagnosis or delays in diagnosis due to system failures or referral delays, which can lead to life changing injuries for patients. We have called repeatedly for lessons to be learned and only hope that, where mistakes are made, patients receive the access to care and rehabilitation they so desperately need.”
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