Medical Negligence Lawyers Secure Six-Figure Settlement For Chingford Woman Following Husband’s Death

A Chingford widow who was awarded a six-figure settlement after her husband died when a London hospital failed to diagnose his deep vein thrombosis (DVT) says she hopes lessons have now been learned so other families do not have to go through the same ordeal she has.

Winston Allen died on 14 September 2012 at the age of 55 after suffering a pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis in both legs.

His widow Michelle Allen-Clarke, 56, instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate why the pulmonary embolism was not diagnosed despite a clotting test providing abnormal results, as well as why he was discharged from the hospital two days before his death.

In the days before his death, he was rushed to Whipps Cross Hospital in an ambulance suffering with dizziness, difficulty breathing and nausea.

Tests at the hospital, which is operated by Barts Health NHS Trust, noted he had a fast pulse, was hypoxic and a clotting test provided abnormal results. An ECG also showed classic signs of pulmonary embolism.

However, without a medical Registrar examining him he was discharged home with a diagnosis of diabetes, prescribed medication and advised to increase oral fluids. It appears from his medical records that the possibility of DVT was considered but overlooked.

But just two days later he began suffering severe breathing difficulties at home. An ambulance was called and CPR was carried out for 45 minutes. Sadly he did not respond to treatment and his family were told that he had died when they arrived at Whipps Cross Hospital.

Michelle’s specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have now secured her an undisclosed six-figure settlement from Barts Health NHS Trust after it admitted liability for Winston’s death. The Trust admitted liability in July 2014 but the case did not settle for a further two years adding further distress for the family.

An internal investigation into Winston’s death conducted by the Trust identified a number of concerns about the care provided to Winston and stated that Michelle should receive a formal apology, which she did not receive for over a year.

The investigation also identified that Whipps Cross Hospital failed to report the incident despite a Trust policy to do so in such cases.

At an inquest into Winston’s death in November 2013 a doctor at the hospital admitted that he had not read the recent guidelines stating that this type of patient should be admitted. The inquest also heard the doctor did not see Winston, but was relayed his symptoms over the phone by a colleague.

Holly Cossutta, an expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, who represents Michelle, said:

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“Sadly, in our work we represent a number of people like Michelle, who have lost loved ones as a result of failings and errors in the treatment provided by medical professionals.

“An inquest into Winston’s death found he should not have been discharged when he first presented at Whipps Cross and this decision meant his pulmonary embolism went undiagnosed and tragically he died as a result of pulmonary embolism.

“Michelle feels that Winston was badly let down by the hospital and decided to take legal action as she was concerned others may suffer in a similar way and her ultimate priority throughout this legal action has been to find out exactly what went wrong so that lessons could be learned to hopefully prevent future deaths.” Holly Cossutta - Associate

Michelle, from Chingford, said: “I’m still struggling to come to terms with Winston’s death and the impact it has had on my life.

“To find out that his death could have been prevented if different decisions had been made and if the pulmonary embolism had been diagnosed was devastating. To add insult to injury the hospital failed to adequately respond to my complaint, failed to admit liability quickly and then took a long time to settle the claim, all of which caused me considerable distress.

“I have a cancer diagnosis myself and feel angry at the way in which the Trust has treated me since my husband died. I hope that by drawing attention to the long wait I have faced will encourage NHS Trusts to settle cases where it has admitted liability quickly to allow people to begin to move on with their lives in the best way they can.

“I sincerely hope that lessons have been learned and that other people will not have to go through the pain we have since Winston’s death.”