Medical negligence is inadequate medical care from a professional which may cause injury or worsen an existing condition. Being a victim of medical negligence can be life-changing and can happen to anyone, even celebrities, but you may be able to claim compensation when things go wrong.
Julie Andrews
In 1997, Julie Andrews, woke up from surgery to remove a cyst on her vocal cord to find that her four-octave soprano singing voice was gone.
Andrews became famous on Broadway for her incredible voice, but after her surgery, she fell into a depression and filed a medical negligence claim against the doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital. The lawsuit reported that Andrews was not made aware of the risks of the surgery and that the doctors operated on both sides of her vocal cords when the problem was only on the left side. It is estimated that she won £20 million in an out-of-court settlement.
Hulk Hogan
Famous professional wrestler, Hulk Hogan, was a victim of medical negligence when he was urged to forego traditional back surgery by his doctors at Laser Spine, and instead opt for their ‘less-invasive’ techniques. The issues that then arose made him unable to work for two years and he has since sued the clinic for around £40 million. After the multiple botched surgeries, Hogan then had to have the traditional back surgery he wanted in the first place.
Following this, the institute then used Hogan’s endorsement without his permission and further patients were also harmed by the medical negligence of the facility, causing them to seek compensation too. In 2019, the Laser Spine Institute closed its doors abruptly, due to financial difficulties.
Elvis Presley
Elvis died at 42 years old from a fatal mixture of drugs prescribed by his doctor, Dr. Nick, alongside his multiple other health issues including supposed type 2 diabetes. Elvis’ doctor admitted to prescribing thousands of doses of various addictive pills, resulting in him becoming an opiate addict.
In 1995, Dr. Nick was stripped of his medical license for overprescribing addictive drugs to multiple patients for years.
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue was also a victim of medical negligence when her doctor gave her the all clear during a mammogram. A few weeks later, she discovered a lump in her breast which turned out to be cancerous.
Luckily, after a programme of chemotherapy and the removal of the tumour, Kylie was given the all-clear, however, if she had not discovered the lump, the outcome could have been vastly different. She then urged women to use their intuition and said that just “because someone is in a white coat and using big medical instruments doesn’t necessarily mean they are right.”
