We have recently dealt with a medical negligence claim for a client and successfully secured compensation.

The claim involved cataract surgery with anaesthetic administered to the Claimant during the same.

The client had attended hospital to have cataract surgery. She had a left eye cataract and this was uneventful. She returned to the same hospital to have right eye cataract however, complications arose.

We sent a Letter of Claim to the Defendant hospital after our investigations, and input from our own expert evidence however, liability was disputed. The Claimant alleged that the Defendant had been negligent in delivering injectable local anaesthetic into the right eye via a retrobulbar block technique; planned and documented a peribulbar block but in fact attempted to use a retrobulbar technique; perforating the globe of the Claimant’s right eye and continuing to insert the needle far enough into the back of the eye to cause penetration of the retina close to the macular; directed the needle through the Claimant’s eye ball so that the local anaesthetic was deposited near the macular; utilised a 40mm long needle which was far too long for a peribulbar block and failed to obtain any or any adequately informed consent from the Claimant as to the use of the technique and explain the relevant risks and benefit of alternative techniques.