Jonathan Lewis Was Diagnosed With Sepsis In January 2014

A Yorkshire man, who underwent a below knee amputation, has instructed specialist lawyers after being left wheelchair bound due to sepsis.

Jonathan Lewis, 58 from Leeds, instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the care he received at St James’s University Hospital, part of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust has so far not admitted liability.

Jonathan has also been speaking to BBC Inside Out (23 October) to raise awareness of the deadly disease.

Sepsis is a life threatening condition that arises when the body’s immune system is overcome by infection which it is unable to fight. Sepsis leads to shock, multiple organ failure and death especially if not recognised early and treated promptly.

In early 2013, Jonathan attended what was then The Diabetic Foot Clinic and which has now been renamed the Limb Salvage Clinic at St James’s University due to some cellulitis in his big right toe. 

During this first visit, Clinic staff removed the toe nail on Jonathan’s right big toe causing bleeding and the toe subsequently became infected.  Over the rest of the year and 2014, Jonathan returned to the clinic due to his second and third toes becoming infected.

After repeated infections and battles with sepsis, resulting in 10 operations over a period of a further four years and 63 weeks of intravenous antibiotics, Jonathan underwent a below knee amputation of his right leg on 8th June 2017. 

He now uses a wheelchair and despite undergoing 10 weeks training to use a prosthetic leg Jonathan is unable to mobilise well on it due to also having half of his left food amputated and genuinely feels he will now be wheelchair bound for the rest of his life.

Jonathan, who has two adult-daughters, Harriet and Georga, said: “My health just kept deteriorating and the infection would come back time after time. I was devastated when doctors told me that I would need an amputation.

“I am, as far as I am aware, currently clear from sepsis but unfortunately the infection remains dormant in my body so could return at any time. 

“My whole life has changed because of sepsis and it will continue to do so, my physio for example has advised that if I had a similar amputation of my left leg, I would find it easier to walk with prosthesis. It’s incredibly hard to get my head round my current situation at times.

“Hopefully the BBC Inside Out programme will help shed light on the problems caused by this awful disease and help make people aware of the signs to look out for when dealing with sepsis.”

Rachelle Mahapatra, head of medical negligence at Irwin Mitchell’s Leeds office and the specialist representing Jonathan, said: 

Expert Opinion

“Jonathan is understandably devastated by what has happened as a result of sepsis.

“We are investigating Jonathan’s claims and hope that by raising awareness of sepsis we can help to prevent further suffering from this awful disease.” Rachelle Mahapatra - Partner

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