Ms B had been ill for a few months and had been unable to eat or drink.  She was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2014 and the plan was to undergo chemotherapy before surgical intervention.

The chemotherapy began in November 2014 and involved three different drugs being administered.  Nurses had struggled to insert one of the cannulas and Ms B began to feel pain at its site after the chemotherapy started. The cannula was found to be leaking and was removed, flushed and restarted, but it still caused significant pain.  Ms B found the whole process painful and developed blisters on her hand that burned and were sore.  She found it difficult to carry out everyday tasks.  Her hand was checked and she was prescribed antibiotics.

Ms B was eventually diagnosed with an extravasation injury to her hand.   In January 2015 she was referred to the burns’ unit within the plastic surgery team where an operation took place to repair a hole in the top of her hand by way of skin graft.  Unfortunately, the graft did not work and Ms B had to attend approximately twenty in-patient and out-patient appointments for hand therapy in order to try to regain proper movement – which was never fully regained.

Ms B had an oesophagectomy in February 2015, but by this point she was really unwell.  She remained in critical care after the operation and had to have further surgery, including a tracheostomy.

Ms B contacted Graysons to see if she could make a claim against Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham for the substandard treatment that she had received relating to her hand.  Nikki Yavari took up the case.  She contacted the hospital trust claiming it had had breached its duty in that it had:

• failed to provide an adequate care plan for Ms B’s specific circumstances
• failed to insert the cannulas in the safest site, failed to recognise that Ms B was at a higher risk of the injuries due to her frailness (she weighed around four stone at the time) and failed to properly respond to her report of pain and raise the alarm regarding the leakage
• failed to keep a proper record of the cannula insertions
• failed to refer Ms B to, and seek urgent medical attention from, the plastic surgery team
• removed the cannula from Ms B’s hand before removing the fluids that were still in it
• failed to properly monitor the cannula site or advise Ms B or her GP to monitor it

QMC denied all liability and Nikki had to issue court proceedings.  Liability was denied. Sadly, Ms B died in January 2019. QMC was persuaded to negotiate with Nikki after Ms B’s death and so Nikki negotiated on behalf of her estate. Using her well-honed negotiating skills, Nikki was able to agree a settlement of £37,500.

If you feel that you have received substandard medical treatment at a hospital, or by any medical professional, contact our experts now and we will arrange a free of charge meeting in which we can discuss your case.  You can also find out more about making a medical negligence compensation claim on our website.