A man who was told that he had ‘pulled a muscle’ by doctors but subsequently lost the use of his limbs has been awarded £825,000 in compensation.
Doctors failed to investigate Tim Joplin’s neck and shoulder pain thoroughly, believing that he had just hurt himself while doing DIY, according to his injury lawyers.
He spent five days in Russell’s Hall Hospital, Dudley and during this time no diagnosis was made. He was later found to have an abscess which was compressing his spinal cord.
Mr Joplin, an artist and former lecturer, visited the hospital in 2003 complaining of extreme neck and shoulder pain. According to his solicitors, after five days and despite his symptoms, including the onset of paralysis, rapidly worsening, there was still no diagnosis or treatment.
Joplin said that he had made numerous enquiries to the staff, and told them about the deterioration but none of his concerns were addressed.
Mr Joplin was eventually transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in, Birmingham, where he was diagnosed with the abscess. He underwent emergency surgery to drain the abscess but was still left permanently paralysed in all four of his limbs.
Through his lawyers, Mr Joplin said that no amount of medical negligence compensation would be able to give him back his former quality of life, but that he was glad his complaints had been upheld. He said that the abscess had changed him from being a socially skilled person, and a useful member of his family to a complete dependant who was in almost constant pain.
He added that he wanted others to realise that they should not be complacent when they were seeking NHS help, and that family and friends should also be vigilant, and not afraid to complain loudly if they had any concerns about the level of care a loved one was receiving.
The trust settled the claim out of court, saying that it accepted that there were lessons to be learned. In a statement, The Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it very much regretted the circumstances of Mr Joplin’s injury.
It said: “It accepts that there were lessons to be learned and certain systems rectified in order to protect other patients in the future.
“We are very pleased that a financial settlement has been reached and hope that this will provide financial security to Mr Timothy Joplin and his very caring family in the future.”
