Twenty Two
year old Kane Gorny battled numerous health problems. He had survived a brain
tumour which left him with a tendency to be aggressive. He also suffered from a
diabetic condition which also caused him to be aggressive and also to have an
inability to conserve water.
His
treatment for these conditions had included steroids. A known side effect of
steroids is weakening of the bones. This led to him going into St. George’s Hospital
in London for a
hip replacement operation in May 2009. Apart from his complex medical history
this should have been a straightforward operation.
During this
admission he became aggressive and was sedated and placed in a side room. His
fluid levels dropped causing him to develop a desperate thirst. He was not
given the medication that he needed. At one point he became so desperate that
he called the police. His cries for help were attributed to behavioural
problems. Eventually the seriousness of his plight was noticed but it was too
late and he died shortly afterwards of dehydration.
In other
words he died of thirst in a UK
hospital in 2009.
This is one
of the worst cases of neglect that I have come across. And it led to strong
words from a Coroner yesterday who said –
"Kane was undoubtedly let down by incompetence of
staff, poor communication, lack of leadership, both medical and nursing, a
culture of assumption."
The NHS
Trust has apologised to his family.
This will
surely lead to an indefensible claim for clinical negligence against the trust
which says that it has admitted responsibility – they didn’t really have much
choice.
I hope that
Kane’s family get prompt and adequate justice for what he went through.
What is
really frustrating is that we see cases like this happening on a regular basis
there are still those who try and blame victims who sue hospitals for putting
the NHS under pressure. If there was adequate care in the first place this would
not be necessary.
Awful. Whilst they have admitted liability I would wager the defendant will at best delay dealing with the claim, at worst raise disingenuous arguments about causation and quantum. They'll run up a stack of costs about which Ken Clarke and others will complain, blaming the victim's lawyers.
ReplyDeletedoctors, nurses and other staff in the medical and healthcare professions must acquire a high standards of care at all times to prevent medical negligence occurrence because if not, a patient's life is at risk...a claim for medical negligence is must with the help of a medical negligence solicitors and a medical negligence lawyer.
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