Compensation claim news
19/08/2011

Father of three dies after hospital fail to do re-scan

The family of a man who died after a hospital failed to notice a serious blood clot has been awarded £300,000 in medical negligence compensation.

The 41-year-old father of three visited the accident and emergency department of Hull's Royal Infirmary after suffering from a pain in his calf muscle. After being seen by doctors he was told that he was at medium risk of developing a blood clot and was sent home.

Due to return for a re-scan the doctors at the hospital failed to contact the man after his initial assessment and he died three weeks later when the blood clot travelled from his leg up into his lung.

The initial scan showed no sign of a blood clot at that stage but the pain was an early indication of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is known to be a warning sign of blood clots in the deep veins of the legs.

It has been reported that a re-scan would have detected the blood clot that later formed in his leg and travelled to the lungs causing a pulmonary embolism.

The family launched a compensation claim against the hospital and have since been awarded £300,000 in medical negligence compensation after Hull's Royal Infirmary admitted liability for the incident.