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£250,000 compensation claim by nurse traumatised after pregnant sister’s death, following “catalogue of hospital blunders” (20 November 2014)

Date: 20/11/2014
Duncan Lewis, Personal Injury Solicitors, £250,000 compensation claim by nurse traumatised after pregnant sister’s death, following “catalogue of hospital blunders”

A senior nurse who works in an NHS neurological unit is suing the health service after she watched her pregnant sister die as a result of medical blunders during her care.

The Evening Standard newspaper reports that Julie Shorter, 52, told the High Court that, despite her job involving dealing with the grief of families whose loved ones are dying, nothing prepared her for the “sledgehammer” emotional blow of watching her own sister die from a brain haemorrhage.

Ms Shorter’s sister, Lucia Sharma, 39, was treated at East Surrey Hospital in 2009, where her care was subject to a “catalogue of errors”. Mrs Sharma was pregnant with her third child when she was admitted to hospital in May 2009 – she had been suffering from headaches, nausea and a stiff neck, the court heard.

However, a CT scan revealed no abnormality in her brain. When the scan was re-examined a week later, it was revealed Mrs Sharma had actually suffered a brain haemorrhage.

Delays in being transferred to a specialist brain unit at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London, meant that her condition deteriorated rapidly. Mrs Sharma died after her life support machine was turned off while her sister was present.

Mrs Shorter – of Burgess Hill in West Sussex – claims that her professional understanding of the medical procedures involved in her sister’s care made the situation even more traumatic for her than it would have done for a lay member of the public with little or no understanding of medical matters.

Mrs Shorter works for Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.

She is claiming £250,000 in damages against the trust which treated her sister – Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust – claiming that she suffered a broken heart after having to watch her pregnant sister die.

“Nothing can prepare you for that,” said Mrs Shorter. “I was absolutely heartbroken. I remember feeling absolutely bereft, devastated and helpless.

“There was nothing I could do – I knew I’d lost her.”

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust has admitted liability over the death and has already paid out on two compensation claims by Mrs Sharma’s family.

The trust denies any liability to Mrs Shorter, however – saying it could not have reasonably predicted her reaction to what she witnessed. The trust says that her professional training as a nurse “prepared her for what she would encounter” when she witnessed her sister’s last hours.

However, the senior nurse says she has been left emotionally scarred – and also suffers flashbacks.

The hearing continues.

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Personal injury claimants have three years from the date of injury or diagnosis in which to make a compensation claim.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Medical Negligence Claims and GP Negligence Claims, call Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.


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