Diana*, a woman in her late twenties, began noticing blurred vision in her right eye. Concerned, she went straight to an eye appointment at her High Street Opticians, who referred her to hospital. At hospital, the consultant negligently failed to identify the underlying problem. In fact, Diana had a tumour growing on her right optic nerve, compressing it and threatening her sight. The tumour wasn’t cancerous, but it required urgent surgical intervention to release the pressure on the nerve and prevent sight loss, as quickly as possible. But because of the negligence, the opportunity to perform surgery in time to save her sight was missed.
Despite eventually undergoing surgery, Diana permanently lost vision in her right eye. Diana was now effectively blind in her right eye and adapted her life, as best as she could, to live with vision in one eye. However, over time Diana noticed the vision in her left eye was beginning to blur and following further tests after her first surgery, a new separate tumour was discovered on the optic nerve on the left side. The left eye continued to get worse, and very soon Diana found she had no useful vision in either her right or left eye. When earlier scans were reviewed, it became clear that the second tumour on the left had been present for some time but had gone unnoticed. While missing this second tumour was not considered negligent, the earlier delays meant the impact of the first missed diagnosis was far greater, leaving Diana effectively blind.
The impact on Diana’s life
Diana now lives with severe, permanent bilateral visual impairment. She has no sight in her right eye and less than 5% functional vision in her left, and she was later registered as severely sight impaired (effectively blind). Her vision will never improve. She needs assistance to move safely at home and outdoors, has impaired depth perception which makes walking difficult and potentially dangerous. She is unable to drive or travel independently and experiences significant social isolation. Many everyday activities she once enjoyed, such as cooking, reading, watching TV, socialising, and exercising, have become extremely challenging. She has completely lost her independence.
Before her diagnosis, Diana had a rewarding career in the care sector. Her visual loss has made it impossible to return to her former work, leading to a significant loss of earnings and career fulfilment.
Legal action and outcome
Diana instructed Enable Law to pursue a claim for the harm caused by the hospital’s negligence. Mike Bird and Katy Wood led her case and worked closely with Diana, gathering expert medical evidence and assessing the full impact of the delayed diagnosis.
The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust admitted liability for failing to diagnose and treat the tumour on the right side on time. It was admitted that Diana should have undergone surgery much earlier, which would likely have preserved the vision in her right eye. If she had preserved vision on the right, when she also lost vision on the other side (the left), she should have been left with good vision still in one eye (the right) – but the earlier negligence had meant this was already lost.
Diana’s case had, at first, been for visual loss in one eye only. But when she also lost vision on the other side, this turned Diana’s case into a much more substantial claim for full visual loss. The settlement accounted for:
The loss of vision (on both sides) and lifelong care and case management needs.
Loss of earnings and future earning potential.
Home adaptations, equipment, and professional support workers to maintain independence.
Diana received a two-level settlement. First, she received a lump sum so that she can buy accommodation, make adaptations, and buy equipment that she needs; on top of that, she will receive annual payments (linked to inflation) every year for the rest of her life to pay for the care and support she needs. Structuring the settlement in this way means she will always be guaranteed to receive the money she needs, every year, for life. The total value of the settlement is over £5million.
Using this settlement, Diana has been able to adapt her property with voice-activated technology, tactile labels, and smart lighting to support her independence around the home, and she receives ongoing practical support from carers and rehabilitation services to help manage daily living.
While no financial award can ever make up for the loss of sight, Diana described the Enable Law team as a source of strength throughout her journey, saying: “Thank you, Katy and Mike, for always going above and beyond and supporting me when things got hard. I will never be able to thank you enough – you will always have a place in my heart.”
How Enable Law can help
At Enable Law, we support people whose lives have been changed by medical negligence. Our team helps clients understand what went wrong, secure fair compensation, and access the care and support needed to rebuild their lives.
If you or someone you love has been affected by delayed or negligent medical treatment, we are here to help. All initial discussions are free and confidential. Contact us on 0800 044 8488 or fill in our contact form so we can arrange to call you at a time convenient to you.
*Name changed for anonymity.
