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Hospital sued by drug user who lost his leg
Edith Cavell Hospital in Bretton.
A man from Peterborough with a history of mental illness, is suing hospital bosses claiming he lost part of his leg following a drugs binge while he should have been in their care.
Mark Currie (44), from South Bretton, is seeking compensation from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust following the incident in the summer of 2006.
He was a patient being treated for schizophrenia at Edith Cavell Hospital in Bretton, Peterborough at the time and claims he should not have been allowed to leave the hospital unaccompanied.
But he was granted permission to leave for two days and during that period he took drugs and fell into a coma.
As he lay on his leg all night while in a comatose state he developed compartment syndrome, a build-up of pressure in the muscles, and renal failure.
Despite being treated appropriately at Peterborough District Hospital the next day, doctors were unable to save the lower part of his left leg.
Mr Currie is being represented by Tom Cook, a clinical negligence specialist at Kester Cunningham John Solicitors, who said he believed the “system had failed him” and he should not have been allowed to leave the hospital alone.
He said: “Mark has a history of illness spanning more than 30 years and was being treated for schizophrenia at the time his injury occurred.
“His medical records also document the fact that he has regularly taken illegal drugs over a period of many years.
“He has expressed the view that these drugs helped to suppress his paranoia.
“Part of the role of a hospital is to prevent patients from harming themselves while they are in their care. Among other things, this involves undertaking appropriate risk assessments and reviewing these before making any significant changes in management.
“This is a man who has been battling serious problems for many years and is now faced with the additional hurdle of being an amputee. In our view, this situation could and should have been avoided.”
Mr Cook was unavailable for comment yesterday but his colleague, senior solicitor Trefine Maynard acknowledged Mr Currie had a “troubled past”.
She added: “As of this morning, the claim has been issued, which means the legal process has formally started.
“After issue, it has to be served on the defendant within four months. They then produce a defence and it either goes to trial or there could be an out-of-court settlement.”
The amount of compensation that could be awarded would be the court’s decision.
A spokeswoman for the trust said their legal teams were looking into the matter.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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