A nurse who has been left significantly scarred after delayed diagnosis of tropical pyomyositis in her neck was awarded £30,000 in compensation.
The woman had recently returned from Africa, yet medics failed to take the possibility of tropical disease into account when she attended hospital with sudden pain in her neck.
Due to the delay to diagnosis, the woman required extensive drainage to an abscess and removal of necrotic muscle in her neck. She has been left with a 15cm long scar on her neck, plus further scarring across her chest.
The claimant ‘C’ sought the help of medical negligence specialist, Sonia Parkes of Medical Solicitors, to bring a compensation claim for her injuries.
Case summary
The claimant, then aged 56, had returned from Tanzania when she became unwell with a sudden and fiery pain in her right clavicle radiating to the shoulder and neck. She also had a temperature of 38.7.
She went to the urgent care centre where she was seen by a GP on shift there. The GP gave her a diagnosis of a wry neck (torticollis) and prescribed naproxen to treat the pain and inflammation.
A blood test was also arranged before C was discharged. She was told that the results would be sent to her GP if abnormal, and that she would be contacted via telephone.
The test result showed abnormalities and a CRP level of 44, indicating inflammation due to infection. However, the blood test results were not sent to C’s GP, neither was she contacted by the hospital.
Her condition deteriorated while at home and she was taken back to hospital five days later via ambulance. This time, C was diagnosed with tropical pyomyositis and admitted to intensive care.
She was then transferred to another hospital where she underwent a drainage procedure on an abscess in her neck muscle. Over a week later, she needed a second drainage procedure with debridement to remove necrotic neck muscle tissue. She subsequently developed sepsis on the right side of her neck which slowly resolved. She remained in hospital for almost a month.
Following the invasive surgery, C had been left with a painful, thick, raised scar measuring 15cm long down the side of her neck. The scar is unlikely to improve with plastic surgery and the significant cosmetic disfigurement of it impacts C’s choice of clothing. She also has reduced rotation in her neck, particularly at night, due to the pain and scar tissue.
As well as the scar to her neck, C also has scarring to her chest running horizontally under her collarbone.
Due to the ongoing pain around the scarring, which continued over a year following surgery, C was referred for pain management. At the pain clinic, she was advised that the pain was caused by infection in the internal scar tissue involving small nerves.
Litigation
Liability was denied pre-action and court proceedings were issued and served. In the Defence the denial was maintained.
The case went to a case management hearing for Directions and during the course of the proceedings, the Defendants made an initial offer of £10,000. After ongoing negotiations by C’s lawyer, Sonia Parkes, the parties reached a settlement of £30,000 in May 2022. This included £28,500 in general damages for C’s pain and suffering and £1,500 special damages for her financial losses.
