“Graham,” 47

“Graham” was a very fit and healthy man who loved participating in different sports and undertaking many physically demanding challenges. However, due failures by his GP surgery and a hospital, a prescription was not fulfilled in time to prevent him from suffering a serious stroke.

Graham became seriously unwell and has suffered lasting consequences from the stroke. Whilst he has thankfully been able to continue to live independently and work, he struggles more now with daily tasks, his future career prospects have been curtailed, and his leisure activities and confidence have been negatively affected. Angharad Hughes, a partner specialising in brain injuries in JMW’s specialist medical negligence team, secured £95,000 in compensation for Graham to help him to cope with his situation.

What went wrong?

The problems with Graham’s health began when he began to suffer pain in his head and neck. With Paracetamol the pain eased but it didn’t go away completely. Graham saw his GP, who was not overly concerned and advised Graham to continue with self-care such as pain relief, ice packs, and topical gel at home. Graham’s headaches persisted and he had to take some sick leave from work.

Graham’s situation took a turn for the worse while he was at a sports practice session and noticed that he had suddenly developed double vision. After a rest Graham felt okay to drive home but once there his vision became worse and he found he could not look straight ahead. Graham’s left arm also felt heavy while his right arm felt light. The right side of Graham’s face was starting to droop and his wife “Amanda” noticed that he was slurring his speech. Amanda called an ambulance, which arrived nearly two hours later and transported Graham to his local A&E department.

The local hospital doctors recognised Graham’s symptoms as signs he had experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA), also known as a mini stroke. The doctors gave Graham Paracetamol and arranged for him to be transferred to a bigger hospital with more specialist expertise in treating strokes.

At the stroke hospital Graham underwent some tests and a scan of his brain. These did not reveal any damage and the doctors agreed with the diagnosis of TIA. Graham was discharged with a prescription for four different medications: Aspirin to be taken once, a drug to lower his cholesterol, one to protect his stomach from damage caused by the drugs, and another drug to thin his blood and protect him from further TIAs or a full blown stroke.

Graham only had the prescription and was not provided with any of the drugs. The hospital pharmacy was closed but Graham was advised that he could be able to obtain the drugs from his GP. The following morning Graham’s wife took the hospital discharge letter and prescription to the GP. The receptionist made a copy of the letter and said that somebody would call Amanda, however was not done.

The next morning Graham, who had been advised not to drive, walked to the GP surgery himself. Graham was advised that the prescription was being resolved but needed “signing off” and someone would contact him. Once again no contact was received. No advice was given to Graham about the need to start the medication urgently. Graham called the GP practice that afternoon to chase up the medication but still nothing happened.

Two days later, Graham woke up with a horrible sound in his ears and a pain in his head. Graham vomited and crawled to the bathroom as he was unable to walk. His vision was blurred, the right side of his face was numb and his right arm felt heavy. Amanda rang an ambulance and Graham was taken back to the stroke hospital. After being triaged in A&E, Graham was admitted to the stroke ward. A CT scan carried out that night confirmed that Graham had suffered as stroke.

Three days later Graham was discharged to his local stroke rehabilitation unit where he spent several weeks receiving therapy to help him cope with the after effects of his stroke, This included helping Graham to manage the extreme fatigue he was left with and learn how to get by with his poor hand function and balance.

JMW’s investigation

Graham and Amanda were put in touch with the specialist medical negligence team at JMW. Their solicitor Angharad Hughes launched an investigation that looked at all aspects of Graham’s care, but with a particular focus on Graham’s concerns about the delay to him to receiving the stroke drug treatment prescribed when he suffered the TIA.

Angharad asked leading independent medical experts working within the field of stroke treatment to look at Graham’s care and advise if the drug delays were negligent and if they caused the stroke and the problems Graham now has.

The experts confirmed that both the stroke hospital and GP surgery acted negligently in failing to provide Graham’s medication in a timely manner and crucially that this medication, if provided, would have likely avoided the stroke. Angharad wrote to both organisations outlining the failures and informing them that Graham required compensation to help him to cope with the financial consequences and his loss of amenity.

Stroke compensation awarded

The strong case built by Angharad led to both the hospital and GP practice making full admissions of negligence and agreeing to pay compensation to Graham. Angharad was then able to begin negotiations about the level of compensation Graham required. All Graham’s losses were taken into consideration, including his loss of earnings from time he needed off work for his recovery. His future lost earnings were also accounted for given that Graham was now unable to pursue a role with more responsibility and a higher salary.

Graham was delighted to receive a settlement of £95,000 and this has a least eased his financial pressures even though it cannot undo the damage done.

Angharad Hughes, a partner at JMW specialising in catastrophic injuries caused by medical negligence, said: