Almost £5 million has been paid out in compensation cases after patients were left blind due to medical errors. Kettering General Hospital (KGH) paid out one of the highest amounts in compensation for negligence in the entire NHS over the past five years.
A medical negligence solicitor made a freedom of information (FOI) request which showed that KGH has paid £4,811,768 in compensation cases since 2017. With five cases of medical errors that caused blindness, this saw the NHS trust pay a huge sum averaging around £960,000 in compensation – the second-most of all hospitals in the UK. While the hospitals have declared that “these incidents are very rare”, specific information about the lawsuits are unknown and some could go back many years.
Five former patients were paid £4,038670 in compensation between 2017 and 2022 according to the FOI from NHS Resolution. Furthermore, Northants Live reports, to cover the patients’ legal expenses, another £606,000 was paid, which was topped by £167,098 of the trust’s own costs. There’s a substantial increase in the number of successful lawsuits against the NHS trust where the trust has caused blindness or deafness.
Medical negligence that could cause blindness include negligent operations, failing to treat infections on time, and delaying treatments for cataracts or glaucoma, according to a medical negligence law firm. Over the past five years, more than £119 million has been paid out by providers in total. This was due to £15 million being paid across 51 claims in 2017 which shot-up to 86 claims and a payment of £32.8 million last year.
Due to the fact that claims could take an extended period to be resolved as they are not always settled within the same year of being submitted, this may mean that the 5 claims against KGH were not necessarily brought over the five-year period but rather from several years ago, the NHS Resolution explained.
A representative from KHG stated “Although these incidents are very rare, we are always truly sorry when a mistake happens in our care. Our teams take patient safety very seriously and work hard to maintain the high standards. We monitor safety closely, investigate all incidents, and make appropriate changes following incidents to further reduce risks.”
Here at UKExpertMedical, we appreciate how traumatic these cases can be. Our team will always act in the best interests of the client and solicitor to prepare Medical Negligence Reports as quickly as possible, in order that the claim can progress to a prompt conclusion. Our Medical Negligence Reports now cover Dental Negligence cases. Get in touch with our team today.
