Facts
SW suffers from MS. She was showering independently as she did each morning. As she was about to get out of the shower, her right knee locked, and she found herself unable to move. SW held onto the grab rails in her shower and pressed the lifeline button for the first time at 8:31am.
SW held on to the grab rail for as long as she could but sadly fell to the floor. She was taken to hospital where x-rays revealed a fracture of the left acetabular, part of her hip bone. She was transferred to another hospital where she underwent left hip revision surgery.
After a few weeks in the hospital, undergoing physiotherapy treatment, SW was transferred back to the first hospital she was admitted to. SW was assessed and her notes read “she needed a lot of support and struggled between bed and chair. Transfer was not safe”.
A month later and SW was reviewed by a doctor and his notes state that SW “has not really had any type of physiotherapy or mobilisation and rehabilitation”.
SW was then discharged to a nursing home for rehabilitation. By this point she was not able to independently care for herself. The Nursing home was unable to provide any form of rehabilitation. At the onset of Covid, SW discharged herself, returning to her home with carers assisting her.
What went wrong?
The Defendant failed to provide her with sufficient physiotherapy post-surgery, resulting contractures of her legs and a stepwise deterioration in her mobility over and above which would have been expected due to the fracture of the hip, alone.
The Defendant discharged SW to a nursing home which could help her rehabilitation in anyway.
How we helped?
We investigated SW’s claim and obtained extensive expert evidence to prove that the treatment she received had been negligent. Although liability was initially denied by the Defendant on some elements of the claim, admissions of negligence were accepted in others. Consequently, we were able to successfully obtain an award of compensation for SW, which will enable her to continue to receive the ongoing physiotherapy treatment that she requires.
SW provided feedback of the service she received at CL Medilaw describing how “the investigation was managed in a competent and timely way” and “Andrew and his team were very friendly and never failed to answer my queries.”
Changing Lives
A financial settlement was agreed in SW’s claim which provides important funds to enable continued physiotherapy to further assist her recovery.
SW has now relocated to be closer to her family and is living in supported accommodation.
