Mental Illness Accident Claim

G V Central North West London Mental Health Nhs Trust (2004)

The claimant, a 25-year-old woman, received £275,000 for the multiple injuries sustained when she jumped from a fire escape at the defendant's hospital in January 1999. The claimant was rendered unconscious and required a tracheotomy because of a severe compromise of her airways. The claimant suffered minor brain damage, which resulted in the lowering of her IQ and a poor working memory.

Claimant: Female: 20 years old at date of accident; 25 years old at date of settlement.

Clinical Negligence: From 1996 the claimant had had a history of suffering from psychiatric illness. On 11 November 1998, she was considered to be suffering from a psychotic breakdown, and was subsequently admitted informally to the psychiatric unit of the defendant's hospital. During the course of her admission the claimant became depressed and made several attempts at self-harm. On 23 November 1998, she absconded from the ward and attempted to swallow bleach and set fire to herself. On 26 November 1998, the claimant was detained under s.3 Mental Health Act 1983, and the following day, she attempted to set fire to her hair with a cigarette lighter.

On 3 January 1999, the claimant's father informed staff that she had become demanding and reckless, that her mood and behaviour were unpredictable and that she had made several attempts to jump out of a window whilst on a day's leave under their care.

The claimant's mood continued to be low, and on 4 January 1999, she absconded from the psychiatric ward. The claimant was found lying on the ground underneath a flight of stairs having allegedly jumped from the top of a fire escape staircase, at a height of approximately 20 feet.

The claimant sustained injury and brought an action against the defendant alleging that it was negligent in failing to provide her with adequate care.

Liability admitted.

Injuries: The claimant suffered a fracture to the lateral wall of the right middle cranial fossa of her skull, severe facial injuries, an injury to her cervical spine, fractures to her pelvis and ankle and a severe left comminuted fracture to her proximal femur. The claimant's facial injuries included a bilateral fracture of her mandibular condyles, a fracture to her jaw and maxillary alveolus, multiple fractured teeth and an undisplaced fracture of her left zygomatical orbital complex.

Effects: When the claimant was found, she was transferred to the accident and emergency department of the defendant's hospital, where she was unconscious and her Glasgow coma score dropped from ten to seven. She had a severe compromise of her airways and required a tracheotomy. In addition, she underwent an emergency operation to stem the flow of blood from her facial injuries, and a large number of her teeth were also removed.

The claimant was admitted to the ICU department on 7 January 1999 where she underwent internal fixation using a left gamma nail of the comminuted fracture of her femur. On 8 January 1999, she underwent halo traction, which was applied to her neck. On 10 January 1999, she was weaned off sedation and transferred to an acute ward where she continued to receive treatment for her severe injuries.

Consequently, the claimant suffered from minor brain damage, which resulted in a lower IQ and poor working memory. She made a full recovery from her neck injury and pelvic fracture and suffered no further problems in that area.

Prognosis: The claimant suffered from long term symptoms of jaw joint pain, which required active physiotherapy and would possibly require surgery in the future. Her dental treatment included the restoration of her fractured teeth by means of crown and overlays of fillings with removable partial denture to replace the missing teeth. It was also estimated that implants may be necessary in the future.

Although the fracture to the claimant's leg healed in alignment, she suffered from a permanent limp and would continue to suffer from aching in the pelvis and upper femur, permanent aching and pain in her ankle as well as a high risk of osteoarthritis.

Out of Court Settlement 15/5/2000

LTLPI 1/3/2004 (Unreported elsewhere)

Document No.: AM0200574