Expert medical negligence solicitors at Irwin Mitchell secured a £40,000 award for a man who suffered as a result of negligent surgery to remove his bladder stones.
Our client, 67-year-old Alan Jones, began to feel unwell with urinary symptoms at the end of 2010. After visiting his GP in January 2011, an ultrasound scan revealed multiple small bladder stones a month later.
Alan underwent an operation to break up and flush out the bladder stones (known as a lithoplaxy) in March 2011, but he ended up suffering from a catalogue of mistakes made by the consultant urologist and the NHS Trust responsible.
Following the operation in March, his urologist failed to check that all stone fragments had been removed from Alan’s bladder. He also failed to recognise that fragments remained after the procedure, neglecting to arrange for the prompt removal of these residual pieces.
"Rocks" remained in the bladder
Alan went on to suffer from haematuria (blood in the urine) and a series of broken catheters over the next few months. After another bout of haematuria he returned to hospital in June, where he attended A&E and was x-rayed. This revealed that he still had “rocks” in his bladder, but he wasn’t treated as a matter of urgency. It wasn’t until the middle of July that he finally had the stones removed after a referral for private treatment from his GP.
Unfortunately, as a consequence of the negligence and our client's lengthy recovery period, he also missed out on a lucrative job offer.
Four months of painful urological symptoms
Alan contacted our medical negligence solicitors and we were able to help him. We argued that, had appropriate surgery been performed, or the residual stone fragments been diagnosed immediately, Alan wouldn’t have suffered an additional four months of painful urological symptoms. If the initial surgery had been performed to a reasonable standard, he would have more than likely avoided the need for the further surgery which took place on 16 July 2011.
The NHS Trust admitted liability and we secured £40,000 in compensation for Alan.
Clinical negligence expert Marcos Eleftheriou represented Alan. He said of the case: “This was a classic case of a surgeon failing to recognise that their surgery had not been successful. He had the opportunity to check whether all of the bladder stones had been removed but seemingly failed to do so.
“This had the consequence of causing our client months of unnecessary pain and suffering. He eventually sought the assistance of a private surgeon to remedy the situation.”
"Patience and persistence"
Alan was delighted with our help, and said: “My medical negligence case against the NHS was taken on by one of Irwin Mitchell's team, Marcos Eleftheriou. Marcos proved to be an excellent advocate, very professional when he needed to be, very pleasant and helpful all the time. Whenever I called or emailed he always responded promptly and helpfully.
“Due - I am certain - to Marcos' patience and persistence I was awarded damages far above the level the NHS initially offered.”
If you or a loved one has suffered due to a surgical error or negligence, our medical negligence solicitors could help you claim compensation. Visit our Surgery Compensation Claims for more information.
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