Case study: Permanent Brain Injury Caused by Major Stroke
Compensation: Six figure sum
Michelle, Lincoln
JMW successfully acquired a six-figure sum for a woman after inadequate care by medical professionals left her with permanent brain injuries.
Michelle (36) suffered her first ‘mini-stroke’, while visiting her mother with her children. Michelle appeared to have a funny turn for a few seconds and was slurring her speech. Mini-strokes should be taken very seriously as they often act as a warning sign that a major stroke is on its way.
Her mother recognised the signs of stroke and so was so concerned that she made her an emergency appointment with her GP for later that day. She was examined by the GP who found nothing immediately of note as her symptoms had passed. Nevertheless the GP advised Michelle to go and see her own GP and rang through to obtain an appointment for her that afternoon.
Michelle’s own GP told her she would need to undergo a blood test and asked her to come back the following morning. However when Michelle returned for the test she had another mini-stroke while waiting in the surgery and one of the doctors advised that she be taken to hospital.
Discharged from hospital
Michelle’s husband was called and he collected her and took her to hospital. She was admitted and the following morning underwent scans of her brain. However later that Friday evening Michelle was discharged, despite the fact that the scans had not been interpreted by a specialist and she had not been given any treatment with aspirin.
Major stroke leading to permanent brain injury
While at home that night Michelle suffered a major stroke and her husband found her hanging out of the bed unable to move. He rushed Michelle to hospital but by this point Michelle had suffered a permanent brain injury that has left her unable to work, with problems reading and writing and suffering from depression.
The claim
Michelle’s case was taken up by one of JMW’s specialist lawyers and it was alleged that the hospital failed to provide adequate care to Michelle. After on-going negotiations the trust eventually agreed to pay Michelle and her family a six-figure compensation settlement to help them to cope with her brain injury.
If you or someone you know has suffered in a similar way to Michelle and would like expert guidance on the next steps to take, do not hesitate to get in touch with the expert team at JMW. Simply call us on 0800 054 6512 or leave your details via our online enquiry form and we will get back to you.
Back to main strokes claims page
More Case Studies
When Phil was 49 years old he was referred to North Manchester General Hospital by his GP for investigation into problems he was having with deafness and balance.
Michelle was left with a permanent brain injury after she suffered a major stroke that her family believe could have been prevented with better care. JMW Solicitors obtained a six-figure compensation settlement.
Ann-Marie experienced severe headaches which were misdiagnosed at A&E. JMW won £150,000 for her family.
Claire was born with a congenital heart abnormality in which the left coronary artery originated from the pulmonary artery rather than the aorta - in other words on the wrong side of the heart. When Claire was nearly one year old she underwent corrective open heart surgery.
Colin was taken to his local hospital when he began to experience a sudden severe pain in the head, immediately followed by vomiting. He was transferred straight away to a larger centre for a CT scan, as a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) was suspected.
Charles had a history of a significant nasal deformity since he was hit in the face during a rugby match. He was referred to Hospital by his GP.
Glenda presented at A&E with head and neck pain, which she had suffered from for a couple of hours. She had taken two Paracetemol but with no relief. She felt nauseous but had not vomited.
Violet won £400,000 in compensation after she was left with severe brain damage when doctors failed to diagnose her sub-arachnoid haemorrhage.
Claire had a normal pregnancy until 37 weeks when it was noted that she had raised blood pressure and a trace of protein in her urine. When Claire was 4 days over due, she was seen by a midwife at home who noted that her blood pressure was still high.
John underwent an operation to remove metalwork from his lumbar spine that had been inserted at a previous operation. At the time is used a wheelchair because of chronic back problems.
'Peter' suffered a major stroke after being wrongly send home from hospital without treatment when he developed worrying warning signs. He was left permanently disabled but medical negligence specialists ar JMW secured him £1 million in compensation to help him cope with the financial consequences.
'Andrew' is severely physically and mentally disabled after a delay in diagnosis meant a serious thyroid condition went diagnosed, leading to his collapse and a permanent brain injury. JMW's Sally Leonards secured Andrew £3.9 million in compensation to provide the specialist care he requires.
Shauna was left with severe cerebral palsy and requires 24-hour care for the rest of her life after maternity failures. Our specialist cerebral palsy team secured her compensation totalling £10 million to provide her with financial security.
'Bobby' was left with severe cerebral palsy and very significant disabilities after meningitis failures when he was a baby led to permanent brain damage. Bobby is not expected to live beyond his teens but a JMW medical negligence partner secured a £4.6 million care package that will enable him to have as comfortable a life as possible.
Luke suffered catastrophic brain damage due to appalling failures by midwives. He was left with severe cerebral palsy and will require 24-hour care for the rest of his life. The brain injury specialists at JMW obtained over £7 million in compensation to cover the cost of this.
A partner in the JMW medical negligence team and a specialist in cerebral palsy cases, obtained £13 million in compensation for two siblings who were tragically both brain damaged by hospital errors.
Claire had a normal pregnancy until 37 weeks when it was noted that she had raised blood pressure and a trace of protein in her urine. When Claire was 4 days over due, she was seen by a midwife at home who noted that her blood pressure was still high.
'Olivia' suffered catastrophic brain damage after she contracted tuberculosis on the postnatal ward, which caused meningitis.Screening errors meant the disease was not identified at an early stage when it was treatable and serious injury preventable. Nothing could make up for these appalling failures but Eddie Jones, head of medical negligence at JMW, was able to secure Olivia a lifetime care package worth £5 million.
Nicola Wainwright, a partner specialising in medical negligence based in JMW's London office, has won a case against a hospital for a child who suffered catastrophic brain damage due to meningitis that went untreated. Nicola is now assessing what care needs 'Maisie' will have for the rest of her life so that she can secure significant compensation to cover the cost of this.




