This matter concerned a middle-aged gentleman who attended on the Defendant Hospital for surgical treatment following an accident in which he sustained an injury to his left shoulder and upper arm. He was assessed upon arrival to the Defendant Hospital in July 2013, whereupon an arrangement for surgical fixation of the left humerus and rotator cuff repair was made.
The operation was successfully performed, but the surgical wound became horribly infected post-operation. The wound was assessed multiple times by various doctors at the Defendant Hospital, but there was a misapprehension that an infection could not occur so soon post-operatively. It was not until a whole 12 days following his operation that our client was diagnosed with an infection. Our client was then treated with antibiotics which he was allergic to, and suffered a severe allergic reaction which caused acute renal failure. He required several washout operations for the surgical wound on his left shoulder, which was damaged further as a result of debridement.
This experience was a harrowing and traumatising one for our client, who was left with limited function of his arm and psychiatric illness following the way his infection was investigated and managed. He contacted Gerard Malouf & Partners, seeking justice and compensation for the harm he had suffered. A solicitor, with over 30 years’ worth of medical negligence, was happy to take our client’s matter on and quickly ascertained that he indeed had a meritorious and viable claim against the Defendant Hospital.
Our team worked diligently and professionally, gathering all clinical notes pertaining to our client’s hospital stay and instructing an expert in infectious diseases, who correctly opined that earlier recognition of the wound infection and treatment with intravenous antibiotics would have avoided further hospitalisation and would have resulted in a better outcome for our client. An expert psychiatrist also confirmed that our client was suffering from the incident and that he would benefit from further therapy and treatment in future.
At mediation, an expert barrister who was briefed and instructed by GMP, was able to secure a compensation payout of $325,000.00 to our client, which was well above what he had expected to receive from the outset. Our client was pleased with the outcome and hopes to use his compensation to pay for further treatment, domestic care and assistance and modifications to his home.
Have you been a victim of a poorly managed or controlled infection that resulted in lasting damage? Please give us a call today to discuss what rights you have in making a claim for medical negligence.
