Case Study: A Fatal Claim

by Trust ADR

3 min read

Jun 17, 2026, 11:59:07 AM

Mr C was a patient in his sixties who suffered from a number of pre-existing conditions. He had an extensive medical history including attendances at D’s hospital both as an emergency admission and routinely.
On the relevant day Mrs C called an ambulance as her husband appeared to be having difficulty breathing. Mr C was taken by them to D’s hospital where he was assessed in A & E before (delayed) transfer to a ward for treatment. D’s staff including the duty Registrar failed to identify that Mr C was in fact suffering from acute peritonitis. This was only diagnosed on the ward about eight hours after admission by which time Mr C was in very severe pain. Emergency surgery was undertaken but Mr C died later the same day.
Mrs C brought a Fatal Accidents Act claim for damages on behalf of herself as widow and the children of the marriage claiming PSLA for the period of (unnecessary) suffering, bereavement damages and a dependency claim in relation to minor services which Mr C could still render to her and the children despite his underlying medical issues. The claim had a value on full liability which did not exceed £30,000. The hospital denied all breaches of duty, causation and loss.
The claim was referred for early mediation before issue of proceedings in view of the potentially disproportionate costs which would be likely to be incurred on both sides if the claim were litigated, particularly as Mrs C’s solicitors were acting on a conditional fee agreement and seeking a 100% uplift in the face of the total denial of liability.
The mediation was able to bring Mrs C as the widow into a central place in the case in a way which would have been impossible within litigation. She was extremely realistic about her late husband’s medical problems and had long since accepted that he would pre-decease her by a significant period. Nonetheless she was angry that Mr C had been taken from her prematurely, that she had not been able to nurse him through his latter years and that they had never been able to say goodbye to each other properly. Compensation was not at the forefront of her mind but she wanted something to mark what had happened which she felt was wrong.
The hospital had not yet instructed an expert but were confident that he or she would support their position, particularly in relation to causation on the simple basis that even if the surgery had been carried out very soon after admission, Mr C would still have died on the balance of probabilities. They were however aware that the Registrar in question had now returned to his country of origin and would be unlikely to be a witness at a trial; his notes were not of high quality.
Initial exploration with the parties identified that the hospital authorities were prepared to make an apology to Mrs C for her loss and to make an offer of settlement on an economic basis to see an end to the claim that day. The apology was communicated first and accepted but the hospital’s initial offer of £2,000 was firmly rejected. A series of exchanges brokered by the mediator resulted in agreement to settle the claim for £20,000 and the hospital were also able to settle Mrs C’s solicitors’ costs at a base figure plus a 50% uplift. There was no formal admission of liability.
It is considered that this is a case where mediation worked extremely successfully. It dealt with Mrs C’s anger towards the hospital, it made both sides acknowledge the weaknesses in their respective positions if the matter proceeded and saved a very considerable sum in costs on both sides as formal litigation was avoided entirely. Mrs C left the mediation happy that matters had been resolved so that the family could conclude the grieving process and the hospital avoided all further liabilities and the time and expense which would have been unavoidable if the matter had continued further.

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Case Study: A Fatal Claim

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