Delayed diagnosis, reporting and treatment left Simon on crutches and doubly incontinent – a tumour on his spine which was eventually removed was found to be linked to testicular cancer which had spread, needing chemotherapy, blood transfusion and bone marrow transplants.
Simon came to Amrit Dhaliwal of Medical Accident Group for help – he had been to hospital four times complaining of severe and increasing back pain with no evidence of any injury. On his fifth visit, when he could not move or use his right leg and rapidly lost power in his left leg, he was scanned.
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The scan showed a large tumour on his spine which was pressing on his spinal cord – he underwent emergency surgery and was left with very limited movement from the waist down and was doubly incontinent. He suffered from pressure sores while in hospital and was also injured, while undergoing chemotherapy, by a drip stand falling on his leg.
To treat his testicular cancer, Simon had three batches of chemotherapy, the last of which almost killed him – he was in intensive care for six weeks.
Nerve damage blighting his life could have been avoided
Now out of hospital, he cannot walk without crutches and uses a wheelchair. Expert opinion has established that if he had been diagnosed or treated properly at one of his earlier hospital visits, with scans and the involvement of neurologists, he would have been spared the extensive nerve damage which has caused his current difficulties.
Amrit said: “It’s clear that there was negligence here – if he had been referred earlier, he would not be in such difficulty now. The A and E and radiology failures had a devastating impact on him, both in term of his mobility and possible life expectancy. I was glad to be able to help him to find answers and to make sure that lessons are learned.”
