Medical Negligence

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer afflicting the UK female population but doctors still find the condition a major diagnostic challenge. Their failure to come up with an early diagnosis is driving up the number of compensation claims, with some patients seeking as much as £550,000 in damages, the Guardian has reported.

Mistakes by maternity staff that have left babies brain-damaged are expected to cost the NHS £235 million, the Telegraph reports.

Ms M, who has requested to remain anonymous was diagnosed as suffering from a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and was treated with anticoagulation treatment, when she was, in fact, suffering from acquired haemophilia.

Mr R underwent a total knee replacement operation at Yeovil District Hospital. During his admission Mr R developed an infection in his knee. The Hospital delayed in arranging for a  swab to be taken. When a swab was eventually taken, the staff failed to label the swab correctly. This caused further delays. Eventually, it was discovered that Mr R had an infection. However, despite knowledge of this infection, Mr R was discharged from hospital without being prescribed antibiotics.

A Sheffield teenage girl has been awarded a seven-figure sum in compensation for medical negligence during a kidney transplant procedure that led to a brain injury, the Sheffield Star reports.

А Hampshire woman has been awarded £100,000 in compensation from Belgian cosmetic surgery clinic Elyzea, following a facelift operation that left her scarred and her skin and lip nerves damaged, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Amputation rates for diabetes patients are 10 times higher in some parts of England than in others, according to a study.

Researchers say the figures highlight the importance of ensuring the right specialist care.

The House of Lords has once again criticised the government's plans to reform legal aid.

This is just one of six times that the Legal Aid, Punishment and Sentencing of Offenders (LAPSO) Bill has been condemned by peers in two days, the Independent reports.

The government intends to make savings worth £350m from the budget of the Ministry of Justice over the next three years by cutting legal aid but peers from all sides have been opposing the move. The Bill is still in its report stage.

As a clinical negligence lawyer, I frequently hear alarming stories from patients who complain that they were not able to understand their doctor, and perhaps more concerning is that their doctor was not able to understand them.

The UK government has ceded ground on two key issues in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

However opponents of the proposed legislation still believe that more concessions should be made to ensure that British citizens can afford access to justice.