£55,000 for Norfolk man who suffered delayed diagnosis of a post-operative haematoma

Ben Ward, a medical negligence specialist at Ashtons Legal, has obtained a settlement for Mr S after his straightforward spinal surgical procedure was followed by complications which were not immediately diagnosed, leading to further neurological problems.

Mr S underwent surgery to address a narrowing of the central canal (stenosis) of his spine which was leading to a range of symptoms including lower back pain. The surgery itself was a success but Mr S went on to develop a blood clot (haematoma) which resulted in him reporting a range of new symptoms immediately aftersurgery. This could and should have been diagnosed more quickly if he had been given an MRI scan to look for the cause of his post-operative symptoms. The delay resulted in on-going compression of the nerve roots which in turn led to various symptoms including pain and muscle wastage in one leg.

Thankfully, this steadily improved with time and once the haematoma dispersed.

Ben Ward comments: “All too often, medical injury claims arise because the post-operative care isn’t up to scratch rather than because the initial medical procedure was flawed. This is a classic example. Fortunately Mr S has now largely recovered but he has had a difficult time trying to overcome his symptoms and get his life back on track after the operation. It is highly likely that an early MRI scan and a further procedure to get rid of the haematoma would have resulted in a much speedier recovery.”