Staffordshire Family Receives Out Of Court Settlement Following Blood Poisoning Death

02 Mar 2010

The family of a mother of two from Staffordshire who died after a locum GP allegedly failed to spot the symptoms of septicaemia has received an out of court settlement.

Tim Deeming, a medical negligence solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, represented the family and has expressed concern that a failure to recognise that mistakes were made means that lessons may not have been learned.

Josephine Denise Brindley was 36 when she died from septic shock on 26th June 2005. The day before her death it is alleged that a locum GP, Dr Karuna Desai failed to diagnose Mrs Brindley’s condition when she attended an out-of-hours GP clinic based at Cannock Hospital.

Mrs Brindley leaves behind husband Paul and two young children, Jack and Holly.

South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust has refused to accept liability for Mrs Brindley’s death but has agreed to pay an undisclosed out of court settlement. Part of the settlement was awarded to Mrs Brindley’s children and held in trust, so needed to be approved by the High Court in Birmingham.

Mrs Brindley’s injured her right shoulder at work on the 22nd June. While trying to pull a box file from a cabinet it fell towards her. She tried to catch it and experiences severe pain in her right shoulder.

Later that day she began to feel unwell and her condition got worse over the next two days. On 25th June she attended an out of hours GP clinic at Cannock Hospital.

Mrs Brindley was seen by locum GP Dr Karuna Desai. She told the doctor about her injured shoulder, extreme nausea and that she was taking some pain killers which didn’t seem to be working. It is alleged that the GP did not properly assess Josephine’s condition despite showing the signs and symptoms of infection. Instead the doctor diagnosed that Mrs Brindley was reacting badly to her painkillers and prescribed alternatives.

The next day Mrs Brindley’s husband took her to Mid-Staffordshire General Hospital as she continued to feel faint and nauseous and her condition deteriorated. Sadly she died of septic shock, despite the best efforts of medical staff.

Tim Deeming, a clinical negligence solicitor at Irwin Mitchell represented the Brindley family. He said: “We believe that Dr Desai’s failure to correctly assess Mrs Brindley’s condition, despite the signs that were likely to have been present, amounted to a basic failure of patient care.”

Tim continued “We believe an adequate examination should have led to urgent admission to hospital, a prompt diagnosis of infection and appropriate antibiotic treatment would, it is agreed, have led to Mrs Brindley’s life being saved.”

“The Brindley family has understandably been devastated by Jo’s unexpected and untimely death. She lived for her family and they were equally devoted to her.

“Josephine’s two young children were aged just 6 and 2 when this tragic incident occurred. Her husband, Paul, has had to cope with both the loss of his wife and trying to bring up a young family alone. While they continue to come to terms with the loss of their wife and mother, we very much hope that lessons will be learned from this tragic death to ensure that patient safety is realised.”

Paul Brindley commented: “The last four and a half years have been extremely difficult and I would like to thank everyone who has helped the family through such a tragic time.

“We have lost a mother, sister, daughter and wife who was totally dedicated to her family. Jo was the life and soul of family social events and her smile would always light up a room when she entered.

“Jo will never be forgotten and will always be in our minds. Today’s settlement will never replace her and I believe the PCT still has many questions to answer.”

back