Month: February 2020

Mechanical Engineer Awarded £13,000 after Workplace Fall

Hampson Hughes Solicitors have successfully settled an Accident at Work claim for our client, resulting in £13,000 compensation.

On the day of the accident, our client was inspecting a property on a building site as part of his job, when he tripped over a dip in the floor in which he didn’t see.

Our client attended his GP surgery, who referred him for an MRI Scan which confirmed he had a tear on his ligament. Our client was then referred to have reconstruction surgery. Following on from this he struggled with the pain and wasn’t able to help his disabled mother with household chores at home. He also found it difficult attending work, he wasn’t able to drive, which resulted in him resigning from the position.

A total of £13,000 was secured for our client.

Accident at Work

If you have suffered an injury at work you could be entitled to personal injury compensation, take a look at our Accidents at Work page for more information.

Remember, we offer you a FREE no-obligation consultation – discover today whether you have a claim. Speak to one of our professional and friendly advisers today on 0800 888 6 888 or email .

 

Hundreds seriously injured at Amazon warehouses

Amazon Warehouse Workplace Accident

Amazon UK is unfortunately back in the news again for poor working conditions in their warehouses.

Multiple news sources have reported the harrowing serious incidents that take place inside Amazon’s UK Warehouses because of unsafe working practices. New figures show that in three years, 622 reports of serious injury or near misses were sent to the Health and Safety Executive. The number of reports has sadly increased every year.

The injuries included were serious enough to stop someone performing their normal duties for at least seven days, including fractures, amputation, scalping or burning.

Amazon UK Warehouses working practices are becoming worse, and things drastically need to change in order to protect their employees. However, Amazon protest that they are a ‘safe place to work’ But these specific cases contradict that comment:

  • In Manchester, a worker suffered a head injury after a number of boxes fell on them, they were later diagnosed with an inter vertebral disc prolapse.
  • In London, a worker lost consciousness and stopped breathing after a head injury.
  • In Leicestershire, one worker suffered internal bruising after being knocked down and wedged under a heavy goods vehicle.

If you are a past or current Amazon UK Warehouse employee, who has suffered a non-fault Accident at Work in the past three years, you may be entitled to compensation. It doesn’t matter if you were an employee, agency or a contract worker, if your accident was caused by unsafe and poor working conditions at Amazon’s UK Warehouse, Hampson Hughes Solicitors can help you.

Amazon UK has a duty of care to all of its employees to provide a safe working environment. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places a duty on all employers ‘’to ensure, so far as is reasonable practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees’’ Amazon UK Warehouse is currently failing to do this, meaning hundreds of warehouse employees are liable for compensation.

Hampson Hughes Solicitors are experts in Personal Injury and have helped recover compensation for thousands of employees who have suffered an Accident at Work. If you feel Amazon UK could have done more to prevent your workplace injury, contact our expert team today. We will be with you every step of the way, guiding you through the process, making it straightforward and easy as possible.

Contact us on 0800 888 6000, or via our contact form

Sources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45795363

https://news.sky.com/story/hellish-conditions-at-amazon-warehouses-seriously-hurt-hundreds-11936881

Passenger awarded £6,790 in compensation for a Road Traffic Accident

Hampson Hughes Solicitors have successfully secured compensation for a client involved in a Road Traffic Accident on the A506, Liverpool.

The defendant, who was driving a Volkswagen Polo failed to maintain a safe braking distance and collided with the rear end of the Claimant’s stationary Ford Focus, in which she was a passenger.

As a result, the client suffered soft tissue damage to her neck and shoulders and whiplash, which required physiotherapy to aid the recovery.

A total of £6,790 was awarded to the client.

Have you been involved in a Road Traffic Accident?

If you’ve been injured on the road due to an accident that wasn’t your fault, then you could be entitled to claim road traffic accident compensation. Whether you’ve suffered a minor injury or something more serious, our Road Traffic Accident Solicitors can help you to claim the compensation that you deserve.

Call 0800 888 6 888 or send an email to [email protected]

Delivery Driver Awarded £11,000 After He Suffered a Workplace Accident

Delivery Driver Accident at Work

Hampson Hughes Solicitors have successfully recovered £11,000 in compensation for our client after he suffered a work place fall.

What Happened?

At the time of the accident, our client was making deliveries with his colleague (who was the driver).

The items for delivery should have all been safely secured in the back of the lorry prior to when they were loaded.

However upon delivery, as soon as our client opened the shutter a sofa fell on top of him knocking him to the ground. The sofa had clearly been inadequately secured inside the vehicle and had been leaning against the shutter.

Injuries

Our client reported the incident to his superior, who told him to get on with the job and did not excuse him from his duties for the day. He took paracetamol and cocodamol to try and ease the pain.

The pain became worse which resulted in the client attending Warrington General Emergency Department where he was referred for an x-ray. Our client developed Psoriatic Arthritis which was exacerbated and triggered by the accident. The client returned to work for 5-6 weeks but the pain was unbearable and left the position soon after.

As a result of the Accident of Work, our client was awarded £11,000 in compensation.

Accident at Work

If you have suffered an injury at work you could be entitled to personal injury compensation, take a look at our Accidents at Work page for more information.

Remember, we offer you a FREE no-obligation consultation – discover today whether you have a claim. Speak to one of our professional and friendly advisers today on 0800 888 6 888 or email .

Reasonable Adjustment Policy for clients

In light of the Law Society, Simon Day’s article discussing autism and how to communicate with people at work, we feel it is important to highlight our Reasonable Adjustment Policy for clients (and employees) at Hampson Hughes.

Reasonable Adjustment Policy

Hampson Hughes Solicitors is committed to providing a high standard of service, and dealing with everyone in a way that is fair and free from discrimination from the start. At Hampson Hughes, we will always try to communicate effectively and appropriately to all our clients. We recognise we must take reasonable steps in the way that we work and communicate with those with disabilities to ensure they are not disadvantaged.

With the Equality Act 2010, we provide a reasonable adjustment to those who have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on that person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

Requesting Reasonable Adjustments

Our team will not make assumptions about whether you require any adjustments but we will discuss the requirements and seek to reach an agreement on what may be reasonable in the circumstances. This will involve:

  • Asking people directly in the first communication if they have a disability and might need any adjustments.
  • Including a note on our published documents indicating that we can provide the document in an alternative format on request.
  • Publishing our Reasonable Adjustment Policy on our website.
  • Including a clear note on a relevant record.
Examples of Reasonable Adjustments

All our employees are equipped with appropriate training and access to information to best assist a client with additional needs. This may include:

  • Using plain English appropriate to the person we are dealing with and avoiding jargon.
  • Providing documents or correspondence in a larger font size.
  • Providing documents on coloured paper or with a specific colour contrast.
  • Allowing a person who has a learning disability or mental health problems more time than would usually be allowed to provide further information.
  • Using email or the telephone in preference to hard copy letters where appropriate.
  • Communicating via post and/or email.
  • Communicating with clients through their representative.
  • Speaking clearly to the people who we deal with an offering additional time to cover the issues they need to discuss.
  • Translating documents or correspondence in a different language.
  • Providing information in a MP3 format.
  • Helping someone who has mental health problems to understand and manage the action taken by arranging a single point on contact.

We may be required to take other forms of actions not outlined above, but we will always try with our best intentions to deliver reasonable adjustments with a minimum of delay.

Read the full Reasonable Adjustments policy: https://hampsonhughes.com/legal-and-regulatory/

Personal Injury Claim

If you have been the victim of a Personal Injury, contact our team of friendly solicitors today. You could be entitled to compensation! Start your claim today by filling out our short contact for here. For more information please contact us on 0800 888 6888 or email [email protected]

Client received £60,000 for septic arthritis suffered following repair of a meniscus tear

£60,000 was awarded to our client after she suffered septic arthritis following the repair of a meniscus tear.

What Happened?

In November 2015, our client had a right knee arthroscopy carried out. Upon discharge, our client developed excess bleeding. When redressing the wound, she noticed that all three of the wounds on the knee were open. The wounds hadn’t been sutured, glued or stitched.

Misdiagnosis and Mistreatment

Our client sought advice from different medical professionals but was continuously told it was no cause for concern. She began to feel extremely unwell, lethargic and nauseous with a high temperate. The client explained to her GP that she recently had an operation and the problems with the wound, the bleeding and the pus that was present. She also explained that she had been suffering with night sweats and tremors. The GP failed to check our client’s temperature, do blood tests or even examine her knee.

Outcome

Knowing something was wrong, our client took herself to A&E. Her temperate was at 38 and was put on an IV drop and fluid was taken out of her knee. Our client was told she needed a washout of the knee as the yellow fluid which was seeping out of the knee was a cause for infection. Following on from the washout, our client was advised she had a deep-rooted infection. She had to stay in hospital for approximately 2-3 weeks as it took a while for her CRP infection levels to come down. Our client was then discharged with a PICC line inserted.

It was decided that it was too risky to have further washout procedures and therefore she was given medication in order to try and clear the sepsis. At the time of suffering with sepsis, our client began to suffer with problems with her lungs, struggling with her chest and developed a major chest infection. She had to be on medication for 4 months.

Following on from the surgery, our client is now unable to walk quickly or run/jog. She also has difficulties driving and regularly has to stop to take breaks to prevent her knee from swelling and becoming stiff. Prior to the surgery our client purchased a road bike and now can’t make us of this. Her knee injury also impacts on home life as she cannot run around and play with her children.

As a result of the pain and ongoing suffering, our client was awarded £60,000 in compensation

Medical Negligence

If you feel you’ve been subjected to instances of medical negligence, please contact the Hampson Hughes clinical negligence team today to see if you are eligible to claim compensation, call us free on 0800 888 6888, or email us at 

More than 1,000 patients undergo unnecessary surgery at the hands of a rouge surgeon

Ian Paterson was a consultant breast surgeon, employed by the NHS, and had practicing privileges in Private Healthcare (Spire) across the West Midlands for over 14 years. In 2017, Paterson was found guilty of 17 counts of wounding with intent and sentenced to jail for 20 years.

What did he do?

Paterson worked as a consultant breast surgeon throughout the NHS and Private Sectors across the West Midlands. He subjected hundreds of vulnerable people to life-changing, unnecessary surgery for no justifiable reason. Paterson knew the procedures ‘’were not needed but carried on regardless, inflicting unlawful wounds on his patients’’.

Paterson lied to his patients and told them that they had cancer and needed to perform mastectomy surgery to treat it. Those who did have cancer were left at risk of developing the disease again after Paterson performed an invented unofficial tissue-sparing procedure that left behind breast tissue.

Over 1,200 NHS patients were treated by Paterson. Around 675 have now died and 68 of his surviving patients have seen their cancer return. What makes this story even worse is that, patients were let down repeatedly over many years by multiple individuals and organisation failures. Complaints about Paterson date as far back as 2003 but inexcusable patient safety allowed him to carry on for over a decade because of a ‘’culture of avoidance and denial’’.

Inquiry

What Paterson committed for decades was wicked. But the blame also lies with the NHS and Private Health Sector, both failed to supervise him and respond suitably to well-evidence complaints. They proved themselves dysfunctional at almost every level when it came to patient safety. So far, the NHS has paid over £10m in compensation to his victims but an independent inquiry has recommended recalling 11,000 patients for surgery assessment.

Despite the conviction of Paterson, there was still unanswered questions about his malpractice and his patients called for a public inquiry into the case. This week, the inquiry published its report. There are numerous recommendations laid out to prevent anything like this occurring again and ensuring patient safety is top priority. The recommendations include:

Recommendations:

Information to patients – Improvements in accessing performance data for surgeons, more effective and better communication with patients and transparency as to the arrangements for treatment and differences between private and NHS care.

Consent – A short period of reflection should be introduced into the process before patients give consent for surgical procedures. To allow patients time to reflect on their diagnosis and treatment options.

Multidisciplinary team – The CQC, as a matter of urgency, should assure itself that all hospital providers are complying effectively with up-to-date national guidance on MDT meetings.

Complaints – Information about the means to escalate a complaint to an independent body is communicated more effectively in both the NHS and private sector. It is also recommended that all private patients should have the right to mandatory independent resolution of their complaint.

Improving recall procedures – A national framework or protocol (with guidance) to be developed to manage and communicate with the recall of patients.

Clinical indemnity – As a matter of urgency, the government should reform the current regulation of indemnity products for healthcare professionals, and introduce a nationwide safety net to ensure patients are not disadvantaged.

Regulatory system – The government should ensure that the current system of regulation and the collaboration of the regulators serves patient safety as the top priority, given the ineffectiveness of the system identified in this inquiry.

Investigation healthcare professionals practice and behaviour – When a hospital investigates a healthcare professional’s behaviour, any perceived risk to patient safety should result in suspension of that individual. If that individual also works at another provider, any concerns about them should be communicated immediately.

Corporate accountability – When things go wrong, boards should apologise at the earliest stage of the investigation and not hold back from doing so for fear of the consequences.

The full report can be found here:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/paterson-inquiry-report

Patients were let down by the healthcare system “at every level”. Victims of Paterson agree that all of the inquiry’s 15 recommendations must be implemented. If the government supports any of the concerned recommendations, appropriate legislation should be put in place to ensure that these are to be applicable across the whole sectors workload.

Carlos Lopez, Director of Clinical Negligence at Hampson Hughes comments: ” I have personally been involved in cases against this individual. Whilst Ian Paterson has been convicted, many of his victims have been left physically and mentally scarred. In some devastating cases, women are now dying as a result of a failure to correctly remove malignant tissue. We at Hampson Hughes understand the devastating impact of Ian Patersons actions and we are here to help and support you”.

Medical Negligence

If you or a member of your family have been affected by Ian Patterson and require advice, contact our expert and friendly Medical Negligence team: 0800 888 6888 or

£55,000 awarded when a catheter was negligently inserted

£55,000 was awarded to our client following damage to his bladder when a catheter was negligently inserted.

What happened?

Our client suffers from Crohn’s disease. His doctors advised his condition may be improved if he was fitted with a ileostomy bag. The client had an operation in June 2014 and the procedure was conducted by keyhole surgery.

Misdiagnosis and Mistreatment

Our client began to feel generally unwell. He was in pain and blood was seeping through his back passage. He attended his local GP numerous time to be told this was normal after such an invasive surgery. He then attended tow separate A&E departments within a week of each other who told him the same.

However, the blood continued and his partner decided to ring an ambulance a week later. He was sent for a CT scan and this revealed a suspicious cloudy mass in his abdomen which required surgery. Following the operation, the client was taken to an intensive care unit where he was left to recover for three days. During this time, he was extremely ill and lost a considerable amount of weight.

Outcome

When it became apparent that the catheter had been inserted incorrectly, it was removed immediately. The nurses had to then insert a super pubic catheter in our clients stomach. The super pubic catheter also caused problems and our had client attended A&E to request that they removed it.

Our client began to have trouble with passing urine. He attended his local GP practice to be told it is possible he could have muscle damage from the initial catheter that was inserted. He is now incontinent and regularly has accidents each day. As a young man this has caused considerable embarrassment.

As a result of the pain and suffering our client received, £55,000 was recovered in compensation.

Medical Negligence

If you feel you’ve been subjected to instances of medical negligence, please contact the Hampson Hughes clinical negligence team today to see if you are eligible to claim compensation, call us free on 0800 888 6888, or email us at