Clarke Willmott’s Clinical Negligence Team settle complex bowel perforation case
Case involving bowel perforation, sepsis and hernia repair settled day before High Court Trial
James Edmondson, Senior Associate in Clarke Willmott’s Clinical Negligence Team, was instructed by the Claimant, an entrepreneur, in a claim for a negligent failure on the part of an NHS Trust to diagnose bowel obstruction, leading to a bowel perforation which caused life-changing sequalae.
Case overview
The Claimant underwent an open mesh repair of recurrent incisional hernia in 2017. During a routine follow up, his private surgeon suspected sepsis and the Claimant was taken by ambulance as an emergency to the Defendant’s hospital. The Claimant met the criteria to trigger the Trust’s sepsis pathway, but there was an admitted failure to admit the Claimant under the pathway; instead the Claimant was discharged with a diagnosis of gastroenteritis.
The Claimant deteriorated overnight and was admitted to a neighbouring hospital where he underwent emergency laparotomy for a closed loop bowel obstruction with perforation. The Claimant had a prolonged stay in ITU and was then treated for the small bowel fistula that had developed and required further surgery.
It was the Claimant’s case that he had suffered the following:
- bowel perforation with a significantly delayed and complicated recovery, including development of a small bowel fistula and a midline incisional hernia;
- acute kidney injury;
- myocardial infarction;
- post-ICU syndrome – presenting as cognitive difficulties, weakness and fatigue;
- PTSD and mild cognitive impairment.
Impact of the injuries & liability
The injuries meant that the Claimant could only work in a very limited capacity, was restricted into terms of the activities of daily living he could undertake, with no likelihood of further improvement over time.
Liability was denied by the Defendant and proceedings were therefore issued in the High Court and attempts to resolve the claim at a joint settlement meeting with the Defendant in December 2023 were unsuccessful. The claim involved a complex loss of earnings claim, requiring the input of expert Forensic Accountants, and was pleaded just short of £2 million.
The case was listed for a 7 day trial and involved 7 experts in the High Court in London in April 2024. The day before the trial, however, the Defendant said it wished to settle the claim, and did so for a 7 figure sum.
Will Young at Outer Temple Chambers, the Claimant’s Barrister, worked alongside James.
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