Widow receives compensation for hospital’s failure to diagnose her late husband’s diabetes

The husband has been under the care of chiropodists for some time. After he had developed a deep ulcer on his toe, he attended a local Accident & Emergency unit where a casualty doctor unfortunately failed to properly assess the circulation or exclude diabetes. The doctor did not perform the appropriate blood test or check the pulse in his leg either.

The husband eventually had an operation to remove the toe. Two weeks after this surgery he returned to the hospital, where the following day he suffered a cardiac arrest and died.

Convinced that her husband’s death was at least partially the hospital’s fault, the widow contacted our Clinical Negligence team who took on the case. Our solicitors engaged medical experts in the field who confirmed the sad truth: there had been no need for a traumatic operation which precipitated the husband’s heart attack and death. The hospital had made a fatal mistake in failing to diagnose his diabetes earlier.

The claim was settled out of Court and widow received £15,000 in compensation.