£350K for widow after fatal brain haemorrhage was missed
Marcos Eleftheriou has reached a settlement on behalf of a bereaved wife whose husband died due to a negligent failure to identify a subdural haemorrhage at Imperial College Healthcare Trust.
Sean*, a retired international banker, was taken to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington by ambulance after falling at home and hitting his head. A CT scan was carried out, but the radiologist did not identify or report that he had a subdural haemorrhage.
Due to this error Sean was given low molecular weight heparin, which caused the expansion of the subdural haemorrhage and his condition to deteriorate. Sean was put in an induced coma and battled a series of major health concerns before dying in hospital in November 2019.
Prior to the fall Sean was a fit and healthy grandfather in his seventies, who enjoyed sailing and travelling with his wife. He is described by many as a wonderful person who supported communities and his family both in the UK and the US, where he lived part of the year. He was actively involved in his community in Florida where he taught children how to sail and drove pensioners to hospital appointments as a charity volunteer.
The Trust made an admission of liability early in the claim and apologised to Sean's family for the substandard care he received. In a letter to his wife, a Trust director said that Sean "should have been afforded a higher standard of care than he was provided."
It is accepted that the medication was inappropriately given and there was a failure to refer Sean for neurological care or conduct neurological observations. The Trust admits that with appropriate care, Sean would have survived.
His death has been devasting for his family and everyone who knew and loved him. His wife misses him every day and grieves for the wonderful life they shared. She often thinks of the trips he organised for them, the stories he read to their grandchildren and the adventures they will no longer enjoy together in retirement. Sean's brother still lives in the US and due to health reasons relied on him for help in all aspects of daily life as well as being his best friend and confidante.
Marcos reached an early settlement and secured a sum of £353,000 on behalf of Sean's widow.
*Name changed
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