A woman has been awarded £2.4million in compensation from the NHS after a negligent delay in spinal surgery left her suffering serious repercussions.
34-year-old Heather Tait from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands first went into Cheltenham General hospital with severe back pain back in July 2009, but she wasn’t given an MRI scan, even though it was thought that she may have had a prolapsed disc.
Instead, she was sent home from the hospital only to return the next day when her condition had significantly deteriorated. It was only then that a scan revealed she had a large prolapsed disc and she was taken to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth hospital for emergency spinal surgery.
In making the award, Judge Martin McKenna confirmed that the trust had admitted that had Mrs Tait been taken in earlier for the scan and surgery, she wouldn’t have developed the severe injuries that she now suffers from.
Speaking as she left London’s High Court, she said: “I’m pleased that it is finally over.”
A judgment was entered for Mrs Tait against the Gloucestershire hospitals NHS Trust in 2012, so Judge McKenna needed to determine only the amount of damages. He awarded her £140,000 for the pain and loss of amenity. The balance was made up to cover the cost of lost earnings.
The trust’s counsel, Robert Seabrook QC, expressed the trust’s “deep sympathy” to Mrs Tait for the “terrible injuries she has suffered”.
“Continuous efforts” were made to improve hospital standards and procedures, he added.