Staffordshire Widow Receives Out Of Court Settlement But Wants Hospital To Admit Failings

A father of 7, underwent a routine colonoscopy in March 2010, to verify whether or not he had cancer. The operation was performed at Stafford Hospital and the man later died as a result of a perforated bowel.

The angered relatives of the 61-year-old say that the damage to his bowel happened during the operation but the hospital has denied any liability. The family initially believed that the man had died because of an instrument which had burst his bowel but an inquest revealed that his death occurred because of a build-up of pressure on his bowel, ruling out the family’s original suspicions.

Hospital made an error according to family

The man’s wife, still believes that the hospital made the error which ultimately caused her husband’s death. She believes that the injury occurred while her husband was in the care of the hospital even though medical staff at the time suggested his injury happened before he arrived at the hospital.

The man’s daughter says she regrets advising her dad to go into hospital. She says she highlighted the pending public enquiry into the hospital as a means of convincing him he would be okay. She felt that the hospital would surely be responding positively to negative reports about its patient care.

Despite his family receiving £20,000 in an out-of-court settlement from the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust, the man’s daughter has said that she wants the Trust to admit it was to blame for his death. She added that the money could not make up for losing her father.

Public enquiry

The hospital is about to be at the centre of a public enquiry following evidence there was up to 1,200 preventable deaths occurring in the hospital between 2005 – 2008.

The Medical Director of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust offered his condolences to the family concerned but maintained its position on not accepting liability for the death, adding that he was pleased that there had been an out-of-court settlement reached.

The public enquiry into the hospital is expected to report its findings later this month.

If you feel that you have cause to make a claim for compensation you can call us on 0333 358 3034 or fill in our quick online injury claim form and one of our team will come back to you to discuss your potential claim in confidence.

Published 11th February 2015.