£44,000 awarded to workman after a foreign body was left in his abdomen post-surgery
A workman from Blackpool, suffered severe injuries when he slipped in his work van and fell onto a drill bit, which penetrated his lower abdomen.
After the event in 2016, he was given a CT scan which confirmed the foreign body, and was subsequently admitted to surgery to remove it.
Shortly after his discharge from hospital, he began to feel unwell and attended a walk-in-centre in Blackpool, where he was advised the wound was likely infected and referred to Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
He underwent further surgery to washout the abdomen, however when he came round from the procedure he saw that in place of his one inch surgery scar, he was left with a five inch packed wound.
The wound took almost six months to heal, and despite regular attendances to his GP for dressing and observation, he suffered a prolonged infection which resulted in the reopening of the wound.
In 2017, further scans at the hospital confirmed that doctors failed to remove a fragment of clothing which had entered his abdomen alongside the drill bit.
Surgery to remove this went ahead the same year, and whilst he has recovered fully since, the negligence left him with a 12cm scar across his abdomen and significant loss in earnings.
He said: “All the way through this process Lauren at Hampson Hughes has been there any time I needed her, I have had a few worries and she has always been able to reassure me. I know she has worked very hard on my case and got me the best settlement she could and I trusted her all the way through. I would recommend Lauren to any of my friends that ever need a solicitor. I now feel the stress has gone and that is all down to her”.
Hampson Hughes settled the case for £44,000.