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Cyclist Injured After Hit And Run Accident
Police in Edinburgh are appealing for witnesses after an accident on 15th June in which a female cyclist was left with multiple injuries after being hit by a driver who failed to stop and fled the scene.
The accident happened at approximately 8.30am on Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh and a number of people stopped to assist the woman. Police have so far interviewed a number of witnesses but as yet have been unable to obtain enough information to allow them to trace the driver who was believed to have been driving a greyish-blue car.
A Sergeant with Edinburgh Police released a statement asking for any further witnesses to come forward to assist them with getting to the bottom of what happened. He also stated that “of course we want to speak to the driver of the car who we urge to make himself known to the police. If the driver has done nothing wrong and was just on their way to work or school we will get to the bottom of it. They may not even have realised they were involved”. (source)
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It has been released recently that NHS hospitals could face financial penalties if a patient is readmitted as an emergency within thirty days of leaving hospital. These changes have been unveiled by the new Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley. Hospitals will receive payment for initial treatment but not for any related problems if the patient is brought back within 30 days, sources from the BBC have confirmed ( source). This seems to be in an attempt to stop patients from being released from hospital early in an attempt to free beds, as figures show that between 1998 – 99 and 2007 – 08 readmissions increased from 359,719 to 546.354.
If you have ever felt that you have been negligently treated by an NHS hospital, you could potentially have a claim for compensation. Depending on the circumstances of the incident, you may be entitled to claim for an amount for any suffering caused by a hospitals negligence. Hospitals have certain procedures that are in place to ensure that the patient is given adequate care and treatment. If something has happened to you because a member of the NHS hasn’t completed their job properly, they are negligent, and you are within your rights to pursue a claim against them.
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Dog Walker Dies After Being Trampled By Cows
A 78 year old man has died after being trampled to death by a herd of cows at Hopping Farm in Middleton-by-Youlgreave.
It is understood that the man, named as Mr. Timothy Stephenson, was out walking his pet Labrador through the fields when the tragedy struck and he was later found by a rambler with multiple injuries and still surrounded by the cows. Mr. Stephenson was still alive when found and was rushed to Stoke-on-Trent hospital for treatment, however he did not recover and he died the next day from his injuries.
Mr. Stephenson told the rambler who found him that his dog had spooked the herd causing them to turn aggressive and charge. He tried to get away but it is believed that he tripped and a wall prevented him from escaping.
This tragic accident has led to safety experts making a public warning of the potential risk of cows and other farm animals to members of the public, particularly those walking with dogs.
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Every year thousands of people are injured when they are involved in road traffic accidents with uninsured drivers, or worse, drivers that are untraceable because they don’t stop at the scene of the accident. Uninsured and untraced drivers cause many problems to normal law abiding road users, such as the loss of their no claims bonus and increased insurance premiums, and to many, particularly in today’s financial climate, this can put them under a lot of financial pressure.
So what happens if you are involved in an accident with an uninsured or untraced driver? What can you do? Well, first of all do not despair because you can claim back compensation through the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB). The MIB is a non-profit making organisation set up and funded by all motor insurance companies and the UK Government to compensate victims of uninsured and untraced drivers for injuries and financial losses sustained as a result of an accident. The MIB typically deal with around 50,000 claims every year involving untraced or uninsured drivers.
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On Saturday 5th June 2010, ambulance and police officers were called out to a house in east London after the fox mauled the 9 month old twins. It has been reported that the fox crept upstairs and attacked the girls after entering the house through an open door that had been left open for ventilation due to the hot weather. Their mother, Mrs. Pauline Koupparis has described how she heard her daughters crying and upon entering the room found the fox stood over them. The two girls suffered arm and serious facial injuries and a police statement said that they were in a stable but serious condition in a London hospital.
After the attack, the fox was caught by the RSPCA and later destroyed humanely. The incident is similar to one in 2002 when a fox injured a 14 month old boy in Kent, however news of the attack has surprised wildlife experts and, despite the number of foxes in urban areas increasing over the last few years, fox attacks on humans are extremely rare. One wildlife expert said “Foxes are among the most amenable, least aggressive mammals you could share your environment with. It’s very rare for a fox to be brave enough to face even a cat.” He also said that foxes have been known to steal the odd item of clothing from human residences but they usually do anything to avoid a confrontation.
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Appendicitis – A Common Missed Diagnosis?
Acute appendicitis is sudden inflammation of the appendix, usually caused by an obstruction. It is the most common cause of acute abdominal pain in the UK, meaning that about 10% of the population will develop appendicitis at some point – most commonly between the ages of 10-20. If it is not suspected, or diagnosed promptly, it can rupture and cause a severe, life threatening infection. For this reason, it should always be at the front of any physician or surgeon’s mind.
In one recent case, a patient was admitted to an A+E department with a short history of diarrhoea and vomiting. He was promptly and thoroughly assessed and was diagnosed as having a case of gastroenteritis, with the warning that if his symptoms deteriorated, he should seek further medical advice.
Unfortunately, by the next day, the patient’s symptoms had worsened and he was feeling feverish and had developed severe abdominal pain. When he saw his GP, and informed him of the diagnosis, the doctor was falsely reassured by the previous findings and recommended analgesia and to drink more fluids. A urine test showed blood which may have indicated a urinary tract infection, so antibiotics were also prescribed. At no point did the doctor repeat the abdominal exam which may have provided valuable information.
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Footballer Suffers ‘Freak’ Injury
It was reported in the media on 22/5/10 that Republic of Ireland international footballer Shane Duffy recently suffered a life threatening injury during a training match which experts have claimed was such a ‘freak injury’ that it might not occur again for another 100 years.
Duffy, 18, who also plays for Everton FC, was representing his country in a training match against an Irish amateur team when he collided with opposition goalkeeper, Adrian Walsh, and suffered a laceration to his liver. Medics rushed onto the pitch to attend the stricken player and he was then rushed to Mater Hospital in Dublin where he underwent emergency surgery performed by surgeon Gerry McEntee. It is understood that the injury had caused him to suffer massive internal bleeding and that he lost over two thirds of his blood supply.
The Republic of Ireland’s team surgeon Professor O’Byrne praised the hospital’s staff for their expertise and swift actions, which he believed saved the teenagers life, and commented that the young player had “Collided with a player in a way that you would see thousands of times in football matches. It was a freak injury that in another 100 years of medicine, we may never see again.”
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Most of us find that when attending our GP surgery, we often see a number of different GPs and medical practitioners and have no continuity of care.
Often this is frustrating and means that we have to repeat our medical history on every visit and we never build up a relationship with our GP. But sometimes this problem can lead to a misdiagnosis when GPs are unfamiliar with the patient’s past medical history.
A case has come to light recently whereby the failure of a GP to properly read and understand the patient’s medical records and history has led to a misdiagnosis and a failure to spot a condition, which without immediate treatment at the onset of symptoms, leaves the sufferer with very serious permanent symptoms.
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European Doctors: Safe to Practice in UK?
The recent case of Dr. Daniel Ubani is still fresh in many people’s minds. To recap, he was a German locum GP who inadvertently injected a 70 year old patient with over ten times the safe amount of diamorphine; a strong painkiller, resulting in their death. Not so well known is the fact that he is still practicing medicine in Germany, despite the seemingly clear case of negligence. Dr Ubani avoided a manslaughter prosecution in the UK as he had already been convicted in a German court of law, finding him guilty of death by negligence and giving him a nine-month suspended sentence.
In a similar case, a German surgeon, Werner Kolb, operated on a 92 year old lady during a routine hip procedure. He had been employed by the Lincolnshire Trust as holiday cover for one of their surgeons. As European law stipulates that Medical qualifications must be accepted at face value, no further checks were performed. During the operation, he strayed into a danger area and severed an artery, causing the patient to lose over 2 litres of blood. The patient was left bed bound by the operation and subsequently died of pneumonia.
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Paediatrician Mistakenly Removes Baby’s Bladder
A horrendous medical negligence case has recently been reported in the news, where a Consultant Paediatrician at the Manchester Children’s Hospital mistakenly removed a baby’s bladder when undertaking an operation to remove a hernia (source 1, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8546501.stm and source 2).
The seven-week year old baby, referred to as ‘Baby A’ for the purposes of the investigation, was admitted to the Manchester Children’s Hospital with a hernia problem and constipation. It was discovered that her left ovary was protruding into her stomach and surgery was therefore required.
43 year-old Consultant Paediatrician, Miss Pierina Kapur, set out to remove the inguinal hernia, an operation which would normally take only 15 minutes. In this occasion, however, it took over an hour before the surgery was completed and the abdomen closed.
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