James Nigel Coleman from Sandown has received £6,000 compensation in settlement of a medical negligence claim against the Isle of Wight NHS Trust.
In March 2016, the 37-year-old postman and keen amateur pianist cut the middle finger of his right hand on a broken wine glass at home. He suffered a deep cut which left a large flap of skin hanging from his finger and exposed the bone beneath. Understandably, Mr Coleman was shocked by the injury and immediately attended his local Accident and Emergency Department at St Mary’s Hospital.
Mr Coleman was seen in A&E by a nurse, who cleaned the wound before stitching it up. Unfortunately, the nurse failed to examine Mr Coleman’s wound properly and made no attempt to see whether he had suffered a tendon injury. Mr Coleman was then discharged.
Following his attendance at A&E Mr Coleman suffered with shooting pains in his hand and an inability to bend his finger. Mr Coleman thought that this was the after-effects of the injury and that the problems he was experiencing would resolve over time.
Sadly, Mr Coleman’s condition did not improve and eventually he was referred, by his GP, to a Specialist Hand Consultant.
In May 2016, the Specialist Hand Consultant confirmed that Mr Coleman had suffered a tendon injury, which had been missed by the A&E Nurse in March 2016.
Once Mr Coleman was aware of the mistake he contacted specialist medical negligence lawyers, Pryers Solicitors LLP, for help.
Pryers investigated Mr Coleman’s treatment, obtained expert evidence and then made allegations of negligence against the Isle of Wight NHS Trust. The Trust admitted that their A&E nurse had missed the tendon injury and, as a result, Mr Coleman had been left with a retracted finger tendon, reduction in finger flexibility and grip strength. The Trust also admitted that Mr Coleman would require a surgical procedure in the future to improve his condition.
Mr Coleman has been paid £6,000 in damages by the Trust.
Following the outcome of the case Mr Coleman said:
“I am literally overwhelmed by how prompt, professional and helpful you have all been. I could not have dealt with a better firm than yours and with no stress whatsoever. I felt well looked after the entire time. If I need help again you will be the first and only people, I will contact”
Senior Solicitor Alistair Stokes said:
“Sadly, missed tendon injuries in A&E Departments are an all too common occurrence. We see far too many people whose tendon injuries are missed and who go on to require further otherwise avoidable operations. Mr Coleman was a keen amateur pianist and this injury has impacted upon his hobby. We are delighted that we have been able to help Mr Coleman, but we also hope that as a result of this case the Isle of White NHS Trust will have learnt important lessons and now take steps to improve their A&E procedures to eliminate occurrences of missed tendon injuries.”
