Each year in the UK over 12,000 people are victims of medical negligence, from emergency medicine to botched surgeries. Medical negligence can happen to anyone, even celebrities and here are a few cases that may be of interest.
Joan Rivers
Comedian Joan Rivers suffered a heart attack in 2014, after undergoing routine throat surgery just days before, and later died. Investigations into her death revealed that numerous mistakes were made both during the surgery and afterwards including failing to respond to deteriorating vital signs, giving the incorrect anaesthetic dosage and even taking pictures with the star while she was under anaesthesia.
These failings led to surviving family members filing a lawsuit against the surgical centre to ‘make certain that the focus of this horrific incident remains on to improve patient care and the legacy of Joan Rivers.’
Dennis Quaid and family
In 2007, Hollywood actor Dennis Quaid and his wife Kimberly welcomed two beautiful twins into the world. However after the twins caught an infection, the staff treated them with 10,000 units of blood thinner rather than the supposed 10 units, causing their blood to turn into the consistency of water and leaving them in a critical condition. The children did later recover after spending a week in intensive care but the medical centre where this occurred was sued and the family received $750,000 in compensation for the medical negligence.
Leslie Ash
Leslie Ash, a British actress received nearly £5 million in compensation after she contracted MRSA at the hands of the NHS. In 2004, Ash was admitted to a London hospital with broken ribs and a punctured lung but caught the superbug from an epidural needle which came loose. This left her temporarily paralysed from the waist down and subsequently ruined her career. As a result of this incident, the NHS updated its guidelines and provided nurses with further training on monitoring infection to avoid anything like this happening in the future.
Pete Burns
The lead singer of the eighties band Dead or Alive, Pete Burns, was a victim of medical negligence in the form of botched plastic surgery which he claims ruined his career and life. Bruns was receiving treatment for the correction of problems associated with a previous implant Alloderm but was injected with a lip filler called OUTLINE Original which has warning signs relating to its use in conjunction with other products. The reaction of the filler resulted in swelling, blisters, lumps and discharge leaving him unable to eat or drink normally. After the Dr admitted negligence an out of court settlement of £450,000 was received by Burns.
