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Sepsis results in clinical negligence claim

This article was published on August 4th, 2016

A woman who failed to have her symptoms diagnosed and treated correctly, is claiming for clinical negligence compensation after she developed Sepsis as a result.
The woman in her 40’s believes she received negligent care after her symptoms were dismissed as a urinary tract infection rather than the life threatening sepsis. Sepsis can kill when not treated early and is the cause of more deaths than heart attacks. According to statistics, each year 150,000 people in the UK develop sepsis and of those 44,000 are fatalities. 25% of survivors suffer life-changing disabilities, such as organ failure and amputated limbs.

It’s described as the silent killer but Sepsis is more commonly known as blood poisoning and is often mistaken for everyday illnesses, such as flu or a virus.

The woman in this case started to feel unwell and complained of abdominal pain and was in a community hospital receiving treatment for an infection. She repeatedly complained about increased pain and fatigue and was given stronger pain medication. Eventually through utter frustration at the standard of care she was receiving, the 37 year old called the emergency services from her hospital bed in an attempt to get emergency care. When paramedics arrived, she had a temperature of 40.5 degrees and was taken into intensive care where an in depth assessment of her symptoms by a critical care team confirmed her infection had developed into the life threatening disease Sepsis.

An investigation into the events leading up to the patients correct diagnosis revealed that despite the patient informing nurses repeatedly of her worsening symptoms, there was no clear and accurate records kept of any treatment provided and the nurses failed to consider sepsis as a diagnosis.

She said: “My experience was both frustrating and traumatic. To be in hospital but to end up insisting on an ambulance being called yourself because you recognise you are seriously ill and those caring for you do not, is a position that no patient should be in.

“I felt sufficiently strongly about the basic failings in care that I wanted to draw attention to what had happened to me so lessons were learned. I am pleased to see the recent campaigns regarding awareness of sepsis and hope that the staff at ……. Hospital have learned something from my experience.”

If you have been unfortunate enough to have experienced a misdiagnosis from medical staff whether it’s your GP or hospital staff then contact us now at Thorneycroft Solicitors today for a free no-obligation assessment of your case on 0800 1979 345 or complete our online enquiry form.

Our medical negligence solicitors are dedicated to maximising the compensation for medical negligence available on a no win – no fee basis.

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Sepsis results in clinical negligence claim

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