Wife to sue NHS over man's death

9 April 2009 02:18pm

A widow has announced plans to file a compensation claim against an NHS trust after medical staff took more than three years to diagnose and treat her husband's ultimately fatal lung cancer.

Margaret Rogers, 72, will sue the University Hospitals Bristol (UHB) NHS Foundation Trust after she lost her husband Elvet, aged 75, to the disease in 2006.

Mr Rogers was first admitted to the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI), which is run by UHB NHS Foundation Trust, in February 2002 where he underwent a heart bypass operation.

Chest x-rays taken after the surgery in March 2002 revealed a mass in Mr Rogers' right lung - which was noted as being suspected cancer. Mrs Rogers' solicitors Withy King claim this was not followed up.

Mr Rogers went back to the BRI for a second scan in November 2002 and a third scan in April 2005, and although the x-rays showed the same lung mass, no further action was taken.

It was not until October 2005 that the x-rays were followed up and Mr Rogers' lung cancer was confirmed, Withy King said. By this stage Mr Rogers was too unwell to undergo treatment and he died on March 8 2006.

Mrs Rogers, from Ashton, in Bristol, said she decided to sue the Trust after it refused to agree to an early out of court settlement.

"This was never about the money... It took the BRI three-and-a-half years to diagnose my husband's lung cancer and somebody needs to take responsibility for that. We want closure now so that we can try and get on with our lives," she said.

Her solicitor, Paul Rumley, a clinical negligence expert based at Withy King, heavily criticised the Trust and the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA), accusing them of "dragging their heels" and "wasting taxpayers' money" by refusing to cooperate with a case where the evidence is undisputed.

A spokeswoman for UHB NHS Foundation Trust said: "UHB NHS Foundation Trust has recently received a letter of claim from the family which we are investigating together with the NHSLA. We extend our condolences to Margaret Rogers."

© The Press Association