Tony* was 74 when he was diagnosed with Dukes’ B adenocarcinoma (cancer) in the colon (large intestine).
During an operation at Luton and Dunstable Hospital to remove the tumour, he lost significant amounts of blood, and it was found that he had suffered a tear in a major vein, which was then sutured. Post-operatively, it was discovered that the vein had blocked, resulting in bowel ischaemia, and Tony had to be taken back to theatre, where a section of his small bowel was removed. After the further surgery, Tony was taken to the ICU but sadly died the next day.
Legal Director Charlotte Measures, from our NHS medical negligence team, supported Tony’s wife and managed to achieve a sizeable settlement, which included compensation for her loss of income and for her loss of services.
Bowel ischaemia is a condition where the blood flow to the intestines slows or stops. This is a medical emergency and when left untreated an Ischaemia can progress to necrosis, which can occur in a matter of hours. Necrosis involves irreversible death of body tissue and can eventually result in organ failure and death.
Challenges faced by the client
Tony was diagnosed with bowel cancer following a routine screening with the National Bowel Screening Programme. Fortunately, because of the screening service, the cancer was picked up relatively early before it had spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of Tony’s body. Tony was offered a colonoscopy and surgery to remove the tumour. It was expected that he would be offered chemotherapy and make a full recovery. His death following the surgery was completely unexpected.
Following Tony’s passing, his wife has suffered with immense grief over the loss of her husband. The couple were retired teachers and had been enjoying holidays together, attending quizzes, and going out for meals. Tony was also a keen gardener and enjoyed DIY. Following his death, his wife struggled to maintain the house on her own.
How we helped settle the claim
With the support and expertise of Charlotte, Tony’s wife made a claim against Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Charlotte argued that there was a breach of duty of care with the surgeons electing to proceed with open surgery despite Tony’s weight and a history of hypertension; and with the delay in returning Tony to theatre once the bowel ischaemia had been identified.
The Trust admitted that negligence had led to Tony’s death and agreed that this was preventable.
Charlotte then instructed an expert in oncology who advised that without the negligence Tony was likely to have recovered from his surgery and been offered chemotherapy. He was also likely that his life expectancy would have been a further 12 years.
The compensation claim covered funeral costs, financial dependency losses and a bereavement award, thus alleviating some of the financial pressures experienced by Tony’s wife following the sad death of her husband.
*real name not used
