Gerard Martin QC and Chris Gutteridge secure £2.5 million settlement for double amputee

June 19, 2019

Gerard Martin QC and Chris Gutteridge have secured a £2.5m settlement for a Leicestershire man who suffered a double amputation as a result of admitted clinical negligence.

In 2015, when the claimant was 56 years old, he was admitted to hospital with painful, numb and cold lower limbs. Doctors investigating his complaint negligently failed to consider a vascular cause. By the time clots blocking the supply of blood to his legs were identified, his nerves and soft tissues had suffered catastrophic damage. He underwent bilateral above-knee amputations as a result.

The claimant became a full-time wheelchair user. He lost his job in the print factory where he had worked for 39 years. He became confined to the ground floor of his home, which was totally unsuitable for his needs.

The £2.5 million in compensation will be used to build specially designed accommodation on a plot of land close to the village where the claimant and his family had lived for years before his injury. The house will have an internal lift, a therapy room and a swim spa. Every aspect of his new home will be tailored to his particular requirements.

The compensation will also fund specialist rehabilitation towards making the claimant a part-time prosthetics user. Though he will always need to use a wheelchair, the claimant was determined to return to walking for at least some of the time using prosthetic legs. The experts instructed on his behalf agreed that standing and walking on bespoke prostheses would bring huge health benefits as well as providing him with more independence.

The settlement will also ensure that as the claimant ages and his care needs increase, professional carers will be able to be employed to assist him in his own home.

Chris Gutteridge said of the settlement: “This has been an extremely rewarding case to work on with Gerard, the claimant and his solicitors at Thompsons. Despite suffering an horrific injury, this claimant has approached every challenge he has faced with courage and optimism. He now has the means to build his specially adapted home and to start the journey towards walking on prosthetic limbs. Thanks to careful preparation of his case and presentation of the evidence, we were able to secure a very good result. This has been a team effort and Gerard and I are delighted to have been a part of it.”

Gerard and Chris were instructed by Linda Millband and Estelle Cockayne from Thompsons Solicitors in Nottingham.