In only 12 months Longton Legal and Longton Compensation Lawyers secured a combined settlement for a Centra Coast man and his wife of hundreds of thousands because of surgical medical negligence dating back to 2016 after his claim was rejected by 2 of Sydney’s leading personal injury firms for not being viable.

Wayne’s and Matilda’s story

Wayne, a loving husband to Matilda and their 2 young children, was admitted to a small Central Coast country hospital for a routine surgical procedure. During the surgery, the surgeon damaged one of his arteries causing severe bleeding. The surgeon attempted to arrest and repair the bleeding, however, due to an incorrect surgical technique caused further damage to Wayne’s surrounding organs. After being transferred to a tertiary hospital for further corrective surgery and ending up in an intensive care unit on life support, Wayne did make a recovery, however, continued to suffer from ongoing physical and psychological problems because of the damage caused during the initial surgery.

Matilda sought legal advice on Wayne’s behalf from a national personal injury firm and a barrister. Unfortunately, she was given incorrect advice that Wayne did not have a viable claim for compensation as they could not uncover any negligence on the part of the operating surgeon or the hospital in his treatment. To compound the problem, Wayne was provided with incorrect advice as to the limitation period that applied to his surgical negligence claim.

Matilda did not give up and contacted another national personal injury firm on Wayne’s behalf. She was advised that it was unlikely that Wayne had a viable claim for medical negligence compensation, but to further investigate it they required an upfront payment of tens of thousands of dollars to pay for the necessary expert reports. By that time, because of Wayne’s inability to work due to his physical and psychological injuries, Wayne and Matilda were impecunious and on the verge of being homeless. They were unable to meet that lawyer’s requests and did not take Wayne’s matter any further.

How we helped Wayne and Matilda

Ultimately, they contacted Yevgeni Shkuratov and Clare Decena of Longton Legal/Longton Compensation Lawyers approximately 6 years after Wayne's surgical procedure and injury. We quickly reviewed the facts of their case and formed the opinion that Wayne had a viable medical negligence claim. We also formed the opinion that the advice provided by the 2 prior lawyers was incorrect. We obtained the necessary expert evidence from a leading Professor of Surgery which addressed the deficiencies in the performance of Wayne's surgical procedure and management of his arterial injury and intraoperative haemorrhage. We also obtained the necessary evidence from an international and London trained laparoscopic surgeon from Europe to further support Wayne's claim.

Through the course of Wayne’s matter it also became apparent to us that what happened to Wayne back in 2016, had taken a significant toll on Matilda. We, therefore, arranged for her to be assessed by a consultant psychiatrist and made a nervous shock/mental harm claim for compensation on her behalf. We commenced court proceedings on Wayne’s and Matilda’s matters.

After approximately 12 months from the time of initial enquiry in 2022, Yevgeni and Clare were able to resolve Wayne's matter and Matilda's associated nervous shock claim for hundreds of thousands of dollars out of court within a year.

How can our leading surgical error and injury lawyers can help you?

Although surgical errors and mistakes can occur for many reasons not all surgeons perform their duties with the level of diligence that is expected and required of them. Sometimes, even the most experienced surgeons make mistakes. In most instances, surgical errors or injuries are caused by some form of human error, as was the case in Wayne's medical negligence claim, and are completely preventable and avoidable with the exercise of reasonable skill and care on the part of the surgeon.

Our team of specialist medical negligence lawyers are experienced in acting for patients and their families in respect of surgical errors and mistakes made by their surgeons. We will do our best to help you just like we helped Wayne and Matilda. We understand the devastating effects of having suffered an injury because of a negligent surgical mistake or error and the impact it can have not only on the affected patient but also their family.

We also understand that almost losing a loved one or witnessing them suffer because of a negligent surgical error or mistake can be a very traumatic experience for everyone involved, just like it was for Matilda.

We will act for you in a surgical negligence compensation claim on a no win no fee basis with no upfront costs. We will only send you a bill for our professional fees and disbursements if you are successful in recovering compensation in your surgical negligence claim, and at the conclusion of your claim.

*the facts and names have been slightly altered to preserve privacy and confidentiality.

*Disclaimer: This is intended as general information only and not to be construed as legal advice. The above information is subject to changes over time. You should always seek professional advice before taking any course of action.*