‘John’, 44

Danisha Jackson, a medical negligence solicitor at JMW, has helped a 44-year-old man to secure £160,000 in compensation after the misdiagnosis of a bacterial infection caused him to lose the vision in one of his eyes.

Incorrect treatment

John felt something fly into his left eye whilst he was out on a morning run before work. When he returned to the office later that morning, John removed his contact lens and found his eye to be painful, red, and swollen.

After making an urgent appointment with an optician that morning, John’s eye was examined, and he was advised to go straight to A&E for emergency treatment.

John followed the advice of his optician and went to the A&E department at his local hospital later that day. He was examined and underwent a number of tests, including vision testing.

Despite the fact that a foreign object had entered John’s eye, putting him at a high risk of bacterial infection, doctors diagnosed John with a viral infection. He was prescribed topical anti-viral eye drops and discharged.

Within a few days, the vision in John’s left eye significantly deteriorated. He began to suffer with swelling and some discharge from the eye.

Four days following his initial injury, John discussed his concerns with his GP. He was urgently referred to an alternative hospital for further assessment.

Following a number of tests, it was identified that John was in fact suffering from a bacterial infection. John was prescribed a range eye drops and oral antibiotics. Sadly, because of the original delay in prescribing antibiotics due to the hospital’s misdiagnosis, the infection was able to cause severe damage to the eye and all useful vision was lost.

After a number of follow-up appointments, John’s consultant advised that there was nothing more they could do to treat his eye and there was no possibility of recovering his lost vision.

Long-term impact

Due to the hospital’s negligence, John continues to experience the following symptoms:

• Vision: He can only see shadows in his left eye. He suffers from light sensitivity. He has no three-dimensional vision/depth perception. 
• Appearance: His left eye now has a different cosmetic appearance.
• Day-to-day: He has difficulty pouring drinks and playing with his children. He will often knock objects over when reaching for them.

Sight loss compensation awarded

John was concerned that his sight loss may have been avoidable if doctors had correctly diagnosed him the first time that he attended hospital. He contacted the specialist medical negligence team at JMW for advice and his case was taken on by Danisha. Danisha began investigating John’s case and at an early stage, the hospital admitted that its failure to correctly diagnose and treat him had caused his vision loss.

After securing the admission of negligence, Danisha was now able to push ahead with negotiating compensation for John with the hospital trust. Danisha gathered all the necessary evidence regarding the financial losses that John had suffered due to the negligence, his future prognosis and the pain and suffering he had endured.

Danisha was successful in obtaining a compensation settlement of £160,000 for John. Although receiving this could not undo the damage done, it has helped him and his family at a difficult time.

Danisha Jackson, a specialist medical negligence solicitor at JMW who handled John’s case, said: