Our client was a young lady who attended a hospital following a fall while dancing in January 2018. She was found to have broken her foot. She was diagnosed with a small break in her foot after an x-ray was performed on her foot, and was sent home in a moon boot. Two weeks later, she attended the hospital again and a further x-ray and an MRI identified several broken bones in the foot. Our client was told that she required surgery so that the arch of her foot would not collapse, but due to swelling in her foot, she could not yet have surgery.
The surgery was eventually performed in mid-February 2018, and our client was discharged with pain relief but no anticoagulants. Approximately one week later, our client attended her General Practitioner and complained of extreme pain in her foot and calf. Her General Practitioner diagnosed her with cramps and provided magnesium and muscle relaxants. A week following this, our client started feeling feverish and suffering from shortness of breath. Her concerns were dismissed by her General Practitioner.
Eventually, our client attended the previous hospital where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. A large blood clot was seen in her right lung following a CT scan. Our client was advised that if she had been given blood thinners as prophylaxis following the surgery, this could have been avoided.
This lady was suffering from compromised breathing due to losing part of her lung from a procedure required to treat her condition. Moreover, she suffered from a severe psychiatric illness where she would have constant flashbacks to her near-death experience whenever she felt breathless, be it from exercise or from any sort of strenuous physical activity around the home.
Our client contacted Gerard Malouf & Partners at the end of 2018, seeking justice for the horrible position that she had found herself in following the medical negligence of the hospital and her treating General Practitioner. This case was handled by Mr Keegan Behrens, an expert medical negligence solicitor. Keegan and his team worked tirelessly in gathering all relevant medical evidence in order to advance our client’s claim. An expert barrister was briefed who supported our client’s claim and provided their expert knowledge to help her achieve maximum justice.
This matter settled at mediation for a sum of $250,000.00. While no sum of money will undo the damage that has been done to our client, it will help her to close this chapter of her life and get the treatment she requires to put this behind her.
Have you been injured as a result of medical negligence? Call Gerard Malouf and Partners today to speak to one of our medical negligence experts.
