Aortic Aneurysm and Aortic Dissection Fatal Claims
Our highly skilled and supportive team are here to help with aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection fatal claims.
It is devastating losing a loved one, particularly where their death could have been avoided by correct medical treatment. Of course, compensation is not going to bring them back, but it may prevent the same mistake being made again, and it can help financially.
Our team are well versed in bringing “Fatal Accident Act” claims, where court proceedings should be commenced within three years of death to avoid being barred from bringing a claim under the Limitation Act 1980.
Aortic Aneurysm Fatal Claims
Aortic aneurysm death claims arise when this main artery in your body that leads away from the heart, swells and then bursts either in your chest or abdomen. Sadly this is fatal in many cases, particularly in the abdomen, even with prompt surgery. Arteries weakened by arteriosclerotic disease may dilate and so ruptures are most common in men over 65 who are therefore routinely monitored.
The main risk factors are smoking, a family history of aneurysms, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. The risk of rupture is substantially decreased if the aneurysm is diagnosed and operated on before it becomes too large which is about 5.5cm, as the diameter of a normal aorta is about 2cm. Surgery for the repair of an aneurysm before it ruptures, which involves replacing the aneurysm with a man-made graft, carries a mortality of only about 1%.
Failing to diagnose an aneurysm sufficiently early by clinical examination, (with symptoms if the aneurysm begins to leak including sudden and severe abdominal pain, loin pain and feinting attacks, and symptoms otherwise including a distinctive pulsating sensation in your abdomen) and/or failing to diagnose by CT or ultrasound particularly as most aortic aneurysm are asymptomatic not quickly referring to a surgeon, not speedily operating to repair the growing aneurysm, other delayed or incorrect treatment, and surgical complications can all lead to successful claims.
Aortic Dissection Fatal Claims
Aortic dissection death claims arise because around 50% of patients in England die before reaching a specialist centre that can treat this condition due to failure to carry out an urgent CT scan to confirm that an acute aortic dissection is present upon the patient’s presentation at their local hospital emergency department. Although abrupt painful chest or back pain is the most usual warning sign, the symptoms can vary or look like other conditions, which may lead to an incorrect diagnosis or delays in recognising what is a deadly condition that needs immediate surgery. Sadly, as a result aortic dissection kills more people in the UK each year than car accidents. The condition arises when a natural tear permits blood to flow between the layers of the wall of the aorta, which may then shatter with fatal results.
Aortic Aneurysm and Aortic Dissection Fatal Claims – How We Can Help
Our Clinical Negligence Solicitors, David Dickie & Alicia Sharman, have vast experience in bringing successful fatal accident claims. For more information or for a free confidential discussion, please call freephone 0800 011 6666 or email us via legal@timms-law.com.
Case Study
David Dickie pursued a claim against the Queen’s Medical Centre Hospital, Nottingham on behalf of a widow who had lost her husband. He was also her carer as she was disabled, and with the assistance of expert evidence from a cardiologist, he obtained compensation of £150k for her together with her legal costs after commencing court proceedings.
The compensation included a claim for the costs of the care for her that would otherwise have been provided by her late husband, Mr W. He was only aged sixty-one and was admitted to the hospital after becoming unwell but was negligently discharged the very next morning with a diagnosis merely of a heart murmur. Had a diagnosis of aortic dissection been made he would probably have undergone successful surgery and survived to age seventy- six, but tragically four days later at home Mrs W awoke to find her husband had passed away .
