Adam’s Story: Missed opportunities left dad-of-four needing bypass surgery

A father-of-four who was left needing multiple operations due to a failure to correctly carry out a routine operation has settled his medical negligence claim against the defendant hospital.

Timeline of events

Adam had a history of peripheral arterial disease in his left leg. He had been treated for the same condition in his right leg in 2016.

In 2017, Adam had a CT scan, which confirmed a blockage in his artery (calcified plaque causing stenosis). He was booked in for surgery the following month. A day after the operation, Adam complained of pain in his left shin. However, he was discharged from hospital and his symptoms continued.

A couple of weeks after being discharged from the hospital, Adam was referred to the on-call surgeons by his GP due to increased pain in his left foot, which felt numb and cold. Adam underwent an angioplasty after a CT scan showed ongoing calcification with possible significant stenosis.

The next month, an arterial duplex scan revealed Adam had a critically ischemic left leg and would likely require bypass surgery, which was carried out six weeks later.

As a result of the failure to correctly treat his stenosis during his initial operation, Adam required a number of additional significant surgical procedures and suffered damage to his leg and foot, causing him mobility difficulties.

How Lime Solicitors helped Adam’s case

Shortly after his final operation, Adam made a complaint to the defendant trust and approached us with his claim due to concerns about the care he had received.  Unfortunately, however, his claim was litigated until an out-of-court settlement was negotiated with the defendant hospital within a few days of the trial.

Adam said: “Since my first operation in 2017, I’ve found it very difficult to stand or walk, and I wake up every two hours each night because of the pain. Prior to the negligence, I owned my own construction company but as I’ve lost feeling in my foot, I was unable to work.

“My injury has had a significant impact on my mental health. I thought I was going to die; I was absolutely devastated. I can be difficult to be around and my wife thinks I am depressed. My change of mood has impacted my relationship – there were so many things we wanted to do with our lives, which I feel have been taken away from me.

“I feel the medical professionals made a mess of me. I have become a mere shadow of my former self.”

A note from Viral Dagly

“This was a complex medical negligence claim where, unfortunately, the injuries sustained by Adam as a result of the substandard surgery were significantly compounded by the conduct of the defendant and their failure to engage with the claims process.”