Our client was a gentleman in his 60s who underwent an operation to repair a valve in his heart. Complications occurred during the operation and a large amount of air was noted in the heart during the operation.

The operation was technically complex and the manner in which the air was allowed into the heart was not entirely clear. Our independent experts were supportive of the case and concluded that the air could only have entered the circulatory system through negligence. Sadly they concluded that the air had travelled to the brain and caused a stroke. This led to significant cognitive difficulties which meant our client was unable to properly manage his financial affairs and lacked capacity. He had impairment of the following higher mental functions:-

• Memory
• Concentration
• Lack of motivation
• Lack of initiation
• Difficulty with multitasking
• Difficulty with sequencing
• Difficulty with language function
• Impaired insight
• Impaired judgement
• Difficulty planning and decision-making
• Slow mental processing

Proceedings were issued against the private hospital, surgeon and anaesthetist. Although liability was strongly denied, the matter was eventually settled and the court approved a global settlement of £600,000.