In this case we acted for a young lady who presented at a public hospital in Sydney for neck pain, stiffness and headache. She was told she should undergo a lumbar puncture, and was instructed by hospital staff to lean against a movable meal table in preparation for the procedure. The doctors responsible for the procedure then noticed that the necessary equipment was not available and left our client unattended. Left only with her grandmother, our client began to feel ill and fell. She landed on the floor, hitting her head and sustaining a number of injuries.
Our client suffered ligamentous injuries to her neck and upper back, nerve damage to her shoulder, and fractures to a number of spinal vertebrae. As a result of these, our client can no longer elevate her arms. She has also since suffered from constant muscle tension, an inability to use arms for any extended period of time, an inability to carry out her work as a hairdresser and general immobility. She put on weight and exhibited loss of confidence, depression and anxiety.
Our client obtained our advice and engaged the expert legal services of our solicitors for carriage of her Sydney hospital medical negligence matter. We consulted medical experts to confirm that proper procedure in terms of mitigating the risk of patients falling had not in fact been undertaken by the hospital staff. We also obtained medical reports to ascertain the extent of our client’s loss in terms of her physical limitations and emotional difficulties.
Ultimately, we proceeded to mediation with the solicitors of the Hospital and the case settled for an amount of $340,000 including costs.
We are a highly focused and specialised medical negligence compensation law firm including Sydney hospital negligence claims. Our “no win no fee’’ arrangements and written guarantee to reduce fees in the unlikely event of a poor result is unmatched in the legal industry Australia-wide.
