Truro lawyers secure £5m settlement for woman left blind in her 30s by tumour misdiagnosis

Truro-based lawyers have secured a £5-million settlement for a woman who has been left effectively blind in her 30s due to a hospital consultant’s delayed diagnosis of the first of two tumours.

The medical negligence specialists from Enable Law have won the case which hinged on the doctor not identifying that her sight was being ruined by the tumour squeezing her optic nerve, a lapse which has had profound life-long repercussions.

In what is described an “extremely complex and moving case”, her claim had, at first, been for visual loss in one eye only but when she also lost vision on the other side due to another growth, this turned it into a more substantial claim for full visual loss.

The client, who is now in her early 30s, enlisted the support of the Truro-based lawyers to pursue a claim for the harm which she believed was caused by the hospital’s negligence.  Enable Law partner Mike Bird and associate Katy Wood won the case after working closely with their client as she came to terms with sight loss and gathering expert medical evidence to assess the full impact of delayed diagnosis.

Commenting on the case, Mr Bird said: “Our client is a remarkably brave person whose world has been turned upside down due to human error and she turned to Enable Law for help because she rightly wanted justice.

“Her heartbreaking journey has been a powerful source of motivation for me and my team and in what has been an extremely complex and moving case, we have secured our client a lifelong £5-million settlement that gives her peace of mind so she can re-build her life.

“We know that no amount of money can ever make up for the devastation of someone so young losing their eyesight and this settlement reflects the severity of the harm caused and the significant care and support she will require for the rest of her life.”

The Enable Law client’s ordeal began when the woman, who worked in the care sector and who is only being identified as ‘Diana’ as a safeguarding measure by her legal representatives, noticed blurred vision in her right eye and headed straight to High Street opticians, who referred her to hospital.

But that is when things then took a turn for the worse as a consultant failed to spot an underlying problem – a tumour growing on her right optic nerve, compressing it and threatening her sight.

While the tumour was not cancerous it required urgent surgical intervention to release the pressure on the nerve and prevent sight loss.

But, Enable Law argued, because of the negligence, the window of opportunity was missed to perform the surgery that would have halted the damage and preserved sight in her right eye.

Despite eventually undergoing surgery, Diana had permanently lost vision in her right eye. After being left effectively blind in her right eye, she adapted her life, as best as she could, with vision in her left eye intact.

She was alarmed to notice, months later, that the vision in her left eye was starting to blur and following further tests, a new separate tumour was discovered on the optic nerve on the left side. The left eye worsened and Diana soon discovered she had no useful vision in either eye.

When earlier scans were reviewed, it became clear that the second tumour on the left had been present for some time but had gone unnoticed.

Enable Law successfully argued that while missing this second tumour was not considered negligent, the earlier delays meant the impact of the first missed diagnosis was far greater, ultimately leaving Diana blind.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust admitted liability for failing to diagnose and treat the first tumour on the right side on time.

It was admitted that Diana should have undergone surgery much earlier, which would likely have saved the vision in her right eye.  If she had preserved vision on the right, when she also lost vision on the other side, she should have been left with good vision still in one eye – but earlier negligence meant this was already lost.

Mrs Wood, a specialist in ophthalmic claims and also based at Enable Law’s Cornwall office in Truro city centre, added: “Sadly, this case is a very distressing reminder that medical negligence can have catastrophic consequences such as blindness and that has been very difficult for our client to take.

“It has been an extremely traumatic time for our client. She may never come to terms with losing her independence, not seeing friends and family and everything that makes life so special. However, she is ready to start a new chapter and move forward as best as she can with the right care and support in place.

“But above all, our client and everyone who has supported her at Enable Law sincerely hope vital lessons are learned by health authorities across the country by our client’s devastating case and its entirely avoidable outcome.”

Diana now lives with severe, permanent bilateral visual impairment. She has no sight in her right eye and less than five per cent functional vision in her left, and she was later registered as severely sight impaired, meaning she is effectively blind.

Her vision will never improve, and she needs assistance to move safely at home and outdoors, has impaired depth perception which makes walking difficult and potentially dangerous.

The inability to travel independently means she experiences significant social isolation and everyday activities she once enjoyed, such as cooking, reading, watching TV, socialising and exercising, are extremely challenging.

Before her diagnosis, Diana had a rewarding career in the care sector. Her visual loss has made it impossible to return to her former work, leading to a significant loss of earnings and career fulfilment.

The settlement accounted for loss of vision, lifelong care and case management needs, loss of earnings, home adaptations, equipment and professional support workers to maintain her independence.

Under a two-level settlement, the client received a lump sum so she can buy her own home, make special adaptations and buy essential equipment. She is now guaranteed to receive annual inflation-linked payments every year for the rest of her life to pay for vital care and support.

Following the settlement, Diana praised the Enable Law team as a source of strength throughout her journey. She stated: “They have been worth their weight in gold to me in terms of legal and emotional support. Mike and Katy have always been there when I have needed them and they will always have a place in my heart.”

Thanks to the settlement, Diana’s home has been adapted to feature voice-activated technology, tactile labels and smart lighting to support her independence. She also receives ongoing practical support from carers and rehabilitation services to help manage daily living.