I owe you a great deal of thanks for helping me through the very difficult process, both throughout the period of the inquiry and then latterly, during the civil claim. Your patience and understanding as well as the lengthy explanations made it a lot easier than I would have thought possible.

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Mentally ill patient broke hip after he was “allowed to roam”

Medical negligence lawyers from our Newcastle office helped a mentally ill man recover compensation after he broke his hip when we was allowed to wander unsupervised from his hospital ward.

Robert Bayles was under the supervision of Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust on the Mental Health Unit of Hartlepool University Hospital.

He was allowed to go out on his own for a cigarette but ended up breaking his hip and fracturing both heels after jumping from the roof of a storage tank.

Mr Bayles had suffered a stroke in 2002 and his health had deteriorated. He had previously attempted suicide on several occasions.

The incident left Mr Bayles with permanent difficulty walking. Mr Bayles and his family were awarded an undisclosed compensation sum after medical negligence experts at Irwin Mitchell argued that he shouldn’t have been allowed to go out for a cigarette unsupervised.

Lawyer involved in this case