£15,000 awarded for pressure sore injury

A claimant received £15,000 for a number of injuries including a pressure sore. The compensation settlement was approved at Manchester County Court.

See also:

Manchester personal injury solicitors

Pressure sore compensation claims

Injury Details

The claimant was 59 years old when he was admitted to hospital for treatment. The claimant had a neurological condition which had a significant effect on his mental capacity.

The claimant required a high level of care as he also required to use a catheter and a PEG feeding tube. In addition, the claimant needed a hoists for transfers.

Only two days after being admitted to hospital it was discovered that the claimant had a Grade 2 pressure sore to his buttock. 5 days later, a record was made that the claimant should be nursed on his side as he was showing further clinical signs of pressure damage.

By the time the claimant had been in hospital for two months the skin of the sacrum had broken down. Investigations revealed that some of the notes recorded by the nursing staff tended to down play the severity of the sore which was so severe that the claimant was unable to sit. The sore was such that it was also likely to have damaged the deep tissue. It took about 6 months for the sore to properly heal.

To compound matters the claimant was also allergic to most types of adhesive dressing. The nursing staff applied the wrong type of adhesive dressing as a consequence of which the claimant suffered an allergic reaction.

Allegation

The claimant's solicitor alleged that hospital did not provide the claimant with the appropriate standard of care and failed to take into account his allergy to all but one type of adhesive dressing.

Conclusion and Settlement

The claimant who was 59 at the time of the accident and 63 at the date of trial was awarded £15,000 general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity.

The claim was settled by an out of court settlement which was subsequently approved by Manchester County Court. Damages were awarded on the basis that the extent of the injury was for 6 months and the total injury duration was 6 months. The most significant injury was deemed to be the Grade 2 pressure sore.