Month: March 2018

A decorator who suffered serious tears to tendons and ligaments in his shoulder after a fall from height at work has been awarded a major personal injury compensation payout. The unnamed man stated that he had been working in his industry for over 25 years, but is now unable to work above shoulder-height due to the long-term impacts of his injury, which the court found was due to insufficient safety measures in his workplace.

The 48-year old decorator brought his claim against Newark-based company Caledonian Modular Limited, who initially disputed the claim on the basis that it was “fundamentally dishonest” before conceding a few weeks before the scheduled court hearing that the accident had happened, but denying it had caused the claimant serious injury.

This defence was rejected by the presiding judge, who accepted the witness testimony and the conclusions of an independent medical expert on the aforementioned injuries, leading to the £320,000 compensation award. The judge ruled that the firm had failed in their duty of protection to the worker by not having suitable safety measures in place, leaving them at fault for the accident, the man’s injuries and his inability to work as a painter and decorator.

The incident itself occurred when the man, who was sub-contracted as a painter, was standing on a “step-up” to reach the ceiling he was painting. In his own words, the injury was suffered when “all of a sudden, a flurry of sparks appeared directly on my left-hand side, coming through a circular hole in the unit wall. My reflex reaction was to move away from the sparks, and I twisted my head and neck away, lost my balance and fell backwards off the step, landing on my side on the floor. I got up annoyed at what had happened and immediately went outside to confront the person responsible. He said he’d been told there was nobody in the unit and was removing a metal strip next to the circular cut in the wall.”

The man, from East Yorkshire, also claimed there were a range of psychological, relational and financial impacts stemming from the injury, stating: “My entire personality has changed. Prior to the accident I would describe myself as a happy go lucky kind of person. I now have little interest in anything and am tense and irritable. At the time of the accident I was married, but due to my personality changes my wife and I have now separated. I was a painter and decorator for 25 years, but as I can’t do that anymore I have had to take unskilled work for a much lower wage.”

Each year, many people in the UK suffer serious injury due to an accident at work. If you or a loved one have suffered an injury in the workplace that you feel may have been the fault of your employer, you should contact our team of expert personal injury solicitors to explore an accident at work compensation claim. Here at Hampson Hughes, our legal team are available by phone on 0151 236 1222 or 0800 888 6 888, by email at or web form via our Contact page. We can discuss the details of your case through a free initial consultation and advise you on a possible claim.

A 31-year old mother of two had to have both of her legs and her right arm amputated after staff at Luton & Dunstable University Hospital failed to identify her sepsis. Magdalena Malec, who also needed to have the fingers of her left hand removed, suffered the amputations due to medical negligence that senior staff at the hospital acknowledge could have been avoided.

Having discovered in December 2014 that she was pregnant with her third child, Magdalena was told a matter of weeks later that she had suffered a miscarriage. In actual fact, she had suffered an ectopic pregnancy, something she only found out when she returned to the hospital on December 25^th. While in recovery from surgery she received following the discovery, the hospital staff’s failure to follow their own sepsis protocol led to major complications.

The loss of blood supply caused by medical staff not recognising the classic sepsis warning signs led to Magdalena developing widespread limb ischaemia, which caused much of her body tissue to die, resulting in the multiple limb amputations. Magdalena had to wait for six months for the amputations, returning to the hospital three times each week for dialysis, as she also required a life-saving kidney transplant during the harrowing ordeal.

In her own words, the series of events have drastically impacted her life: “Now my life is not a life, I was waiting for six months for the amputation of my limbs, with decaying legs and arms. Nothing will restore what I have” she stated, going on to share that “I do not trust doctors and am very sceptical about medical appointments and diagnoses. That hospital hurt me badly and I will probably never trust any hospital again.”

Magdalena, whose relationship with her partner Robert broke down during her course of treatment and the pressure of dealing with her new disabilities, has brought a clinical negligence claim against the hospital trust who are responsible for the Luton & Dunstable University Hospital, who say they apologise unreservedly and accept that the outcomes could have been avoided. Magdalena has received an interim compensation amount to help alleviate current financial hardships, with a full settlement expected in due course.

A spokesman for the hospital stated “the Trust wishes to convey its sincere apologies to Ms Malec and recognises that the care provided to her in 2014 fell below the standards that we strive for. The Trust undertook an investigation to examine what improvements could be put in place, and learnings from this were shared in order to prevent similar cases. We would like to assure Ms Malec, and all other patients, that we continue to work towards ensuring the quality of our services are maintained and improved where possible.”

The UK Sepsis Trust reports that every year in the UK, around 260,000 people contract sepsis, with over 40,000 of those cases ending in deaths and 60,000 bringing life-changing consequences. If you or a loved one has suffered from a case of sepsis that you believe may have been a result of medical negligence, you should contact our clinical negligence team today. We’re available by phone on 0151 236 1222 or 0800 888 6 888, by email at or web form via our Contact page. Get in touch with our expert personal injury solicitors today to discuss the legal options available to you.

A 40-year old man who was left with a brain injury after receiving double his intended radiotherapy dose as a 19-year-old, has received a substantial compensation payout for his injuries 21 years later.

The incident, which occurred at Christie Hospital, was the result of ongoing error in his treatment for a brain tumour, with the man receiving his intended overall dosage, but over 10 treatment dates rather than the 20 treatments that should have been administered.

The overdose in the intended treatments has left the man with ongoing problems with vision, speech, memory and mobility, with Christie Hospital offering its “heartfelt apologies” for the “serious human error” as they responded in the High Court earlier this week.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wil be awarded in the region of £7m as a result of his clinical negligence claim, with a family statement after the hearing stating that “the money will secure his future” and that “we hope the NHS have learned lessons from this tragic event, so that nothing like this can happen again and ruin another young person’s life”.

The award is one of the largest clinical negligence compensation amounts to date in the UK, recognising the ongoing error and the level of impact on the young man’s life. It prompted a large-scale review of radiotherapy procedures, with a Christie Hospital spokesperson stating “since these events, the radiotherapy department has considerable strengthened its governance procedures and we now employ highly sophisticated checking systems to ensure this type of error never happens again.”

If you or a loved one has suffered any clinical negligence with regards to a cancer misdiagnosis, incorrect treatment, or any other medical issue, it is important to find a trusted clinical negligence lawyer who can help you to explore your claim.

Here at Hampson Hughes Solicitors, we have a strong track record of legal guidance and representation for clients in courts across the UK, including Liverpool, London, Manchester and Birmingham. For more information on your legal options with regards to a claim, contact our team of clinical negligence solicitors by phone on 0151 2361222 or by email on [email protected] as well as various social media feeds listed on our contact page.