Claire Toogood obtains summary dismissal of Claimant’s allegations of clinical negligence
Claire Toogood, instructed by the MPS, has successfully obtained summary judgment against a Claimant who developed cauda equina syndrome (Hewes v West Hertfordshire Hospitals and others [2018] EWHC 1345). Claire represented a GP who was operating an out of hours service and received a telephone call from the Claimant.
Following a description of the Claimant’s symptoms, the Defendant GP suspected that he may be developing cauda equina syndrome and advised him to attend the Accident and Emergency Department of his local hospital. The Claimant alleged that the GP should have telephoned the orthopaedic department and arranged direct admission, bypassing A & E. In giving summary judgment for the Defendant, Master Cook found that the Defendant’s expert opinion was logical and credible and the Claimant, who had not disclosed his own expert evidence, had not raised realistic grounds to undermine that opinion. The claim therefore had no realistic prospect of success and there was no other compelling reason why the claim should proceed to trial.
