Settlement for woman blinded after GP diagnosis delay
Sarah Kingsley Fried settled a claim for their client Barbara who has been left blind following the delayed diagnosis and treatment of Giant Cell Arteritis.
Barbara had a telephone consultation with her GP after experiencing severe headaches and pain in her jaw and temples. She was prescribed anti-inflammatories and advised to make another appointment if the symptoms continued in two weeks.
Five days later she went into the GP surgery and was seen by a different doctor who was extremely concerned that in addition to the pain, she was now experiencing "psychedelic" patterns in her vision. The GP arranged for her to go straight to the Emergency Eye Clinic at North Middlesex Hospital but by the time she left the surgery Barbara's vision had gone.
Barbara had developed Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA), a condition where the arteries in the head become inflamed. Left untreated it can lead to serious complications.
Despite steroid treatment, Barbara's vision loss is permanent. She is in her seventies and now has blindness in both eyes having lost the vision in her right eye thirty years ago due to sarcoidosis.
After losing her sight in the left eye, Barbara developed Charles Bonnet Syndrome and experiences visual hallucinations caused by the brain's adjustment to significant vision loss. She has found it mentally very difficult to come to terms with her vision loss and is extremely upset at no longer being able to see her grandchildren's faces.
Medical experts who provided evidence for the claim found that if Barbara had been given treatment as soon as she described her symptoms to the first GP, then she would not have lost vision in her left eye.
Despite the defendant denying liability, Barbara had a strong case, and a settlement was reached at a round table meeting.
A settlement of just under a million pounds was secured which will help to fund live-in care and assistive technology so that Barbara and her long-term partner can live life as fully as possible. It will enable Barbara to move to a new home that is a better adapted to her needs and fund therapy to help with depression and the alarming hallucinations she still experiences.
Barbara instructed Fieldfisher after her son had a chance encounter with a neighbour who recommended them highly. "It has been a pleasure working with Sarah and the team, they have been absolutely fabulous, and they really fought for me," she said. "Sarah was brilliant the whole way through, she is so supportive and lovely. When it all started, I dreaded each week, but she made it so easy."
Contact us
For further information about delayed diagnosis claims and medical negligence claims, please call Sarah Kingsley Fried on 0330 460 6815 or email sarah.kingsleyfried@fieldfisher.com.
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