A butcher whose leg had to be amputated following a series of medical blunders has accepted £250,000 in damages from Medway NHS Foundation Trust.
Ian Watts was admitted to Medway Maritime Hospital in July 2004 with an infection in his little toe. By the time he was discharged from the hospital, his leg had been amputated below the knee. Mr Watts claimed that the hospital failed to properly control his diabetes, and that this combined with shoddy nursing practices had resulted in losing his leg.
He also developed an infection in right leg due to a badly applied pressure stocking and doctors had considered amputating that leg too. He was left severely disabled and reliant on his wife – who has multiple sclerosis.
After months of pain, Mr Watts was admitted to hospital with a painful toe. This developed into an ulcer, which showed no signs of improvement despite regular treatment from his GP and practice nurses. The hospital said that the only thing they could do was to amputate the toe.
Mr Watts then started to develop severe pain in his left foot, deteriorating to the point where his lower leg had to be removed. On the way to surgery his blood sugar levels dropped so dangerously low that he needed to be brought round.
He claimed that while he was recovering he noticed the ward seemed to be in a ‘state of disarray’ and that he had almost been given the wrong medication on more than one occasion. Then a pressure stocking was applied so tightly to his right leg that he developed a blood blister.
After he was discharged, Mr Watts developed an ulcer on his right foot and he was admitted to East Grinstead hospital for it to be amputated. After a second opinion and nine hours on the operating table, his foot was saved.
Mr Watts launched a compensation claim against the Trust and was offered a sum of £250,000 to settle out of court.
He said that he had been devastated at losing his left leg and concerned about the impact that the amputation would have on his future. He was also terrified that he might have to lose his right leg. He added that it had been an exhausting time that had left him depressed and distraught at his treatment.
Specialist medical negligence solicitor Kashmir Uppal said that Medway NHS Trust have not admitted liability for what they considered to be a series of failures that led to the loss of one of Mr Watts’ legs, and the near loss of the other.
He said that their refusal to settle the case until a few months before the trial had forced Mr and Mrs Watts to endure a stressful litigation process.
The compensation secured for Mr Watts will cover his future care as well as his loss of earnings and the costs he has already incurred in having his house adapted.
A Trust spokesman said that Mr Watts’ claim had been settled in March 2010 without any admissions of liability, and offered sincere sympathy for any distress caused.
