Man wins £90,000 after suicide bid (Sued the hospital that saved his life)

The Manchester Evening News / Various ^ | March 5, 2009

[Stoat]

Man wins £90,000 after suicide bid

March 05, 2009

A MAN who tried to commit suicide has been paid £90,000 compensation after he sued the hospital which saved his life.

Michael Dexter, 58, from Lancashire, was rushed to accident and emergency after taking a cocktail of around 100 pills and rum.

At the hospital a drug given to stop the effects of his overdose caused damage to his left arm because he was given four times the correct dose.

Although doctors saved his life Mr Dexter took legal action against the hospital and has been awarded the cash in an out-of-court settlement after a six year fight.

He said: "I know they saved my life but if you went in with a heart attack you wouldn't expect to leave with a limb you can't use.

"I had to go to a burns specialist for plastic surgery. They removed tendons from the wrist and I have had three skin grafts.

"There are not many people who come out of hospital worse than when they went in."

"I cannot even cuddle my wife with my right hand now. I'm still able to drive but I have a job putting the keys in the ignition. I can't dry glasses or cook dinners. I used to love gardening but I don't do that now."

Mr Dexter, a former British Airways engineer from Oswaldtwistle, had been taken to Blackburn Royal after being found by his wife Stephanie, and young sons Martin and Trevor after taking the overdose in December 2002.

He took legal action against East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Medical notes indicated that hours after he was admitted to hospital, Mr Dexter was given at least one 200ml dose of 8.4 per cent sodium bicarbonate.

A report prepared by his solicitor with the help of an independent expert concluded that 50ml would be the usual dose if administered this way, and heavily diluted.

Mr Dexter claims he has lost 75 per cent use of his arm and has been unable to find work since despite trying to get a job.

His depression stemmed from having left a job of 23 years as an engineer for British Airways to move north.

Mistake

He recalled: "I thought I had made a big mistake by moving up here. Some people do it to seek attention but I very much wanted to kill myself. I was quite ill.

"For months I was led to believe that I had pulled a tube out of my arm which made it burn. I left it at that for weeks and then somebody said this shouldn't have happened and I should try and claim damages."

Personal injury lawyer Michael Heyes, of Haworth and Nuttall Solicitors, said: "No matter what the circumstances of how he got there, he was still entitled to be treated appropriately. I'm just happy that he's got a reasonable amount."

Michael made a second attempt on his life three years later but feels he is just as entitled to compensation as any other patient who is treated negligently.

"A mental health problem is an illness like any other," he said.

He added: "Most people would be rushing down the road or booking a holiday but the money hasn't made me smile. I'm just empty. I didn't do it for money, I did it for principles and the way I was treated."

A spokesman for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We are pleased that a settlement has been agreed in respect of Mr Dexter's claim. The Trust would like to wish Mr Dexter well for the future."

 

Michael Dexter

[Stoat]

Also:

Man who tried to commit suicide wins £90,000 damages - from the hospital that saved his life Mail Online

 

Out-of-court payment: Michael Dexter says he has lost most of the use of his right arm

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Live rates at 2009.03.05 16:34:09 UTC
90,000.00 GBP	=	126,701.18 USD
United Kingdom Pounds		United States Dollars
1 GBP = 1.40779 USD		1 USD = 0.710333 GBP

 

XE.com Conversion - 90,000.00 GBP to USD

[WOBBLY BOB]

bring out the gimp.

[lula]

What is wrong with People??? Who paid for the service...Taxpayers?

[dirtboy]

Life imitates The Incredibles.

So don't expect medical heroism any longer.

[Hoosier-Daddy]

This is the same crapola that drove Mr Incredible underground!

[Stoat]

What is wrong with People??? Who paid for the service...Taxpayers?

Although I believe that a lawsuit like this could occur just as easily in the USA and so it's not any exclusive reflection on Great Britain, I believe also that a Socialist system tends discourage a sense of fair play and the traditional notions of humanity among people while encouraging selfishness.  Because of the more visible elements of give-and-take in a Capitalist system, it tends to remind everyone of the balance in economies as well as the rest of Life.

[FlashBack]

"I cannot even cuddle my wife with my right hand now. I'm still able to drive but I have a job putting the keys in the ignition. I can't dry glasses or cook dinners. I used to love gardening but I don't do that now."
HEY JERK-OFF....YOU WOULDN'T BE BREATHING RIGHT NOW IF THEY HADN'T SAVED YOUR PATHETIC A**!!!
Man, these dolts tick me off!!

[TurtleUp]

A spokesman for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We are pleased that a settlement has been agreed in respect of Mr Dexter's claim. The Trust would like to wish Mr Dexter well for the future."

I wish him well also. Any scum who would sue because a doctor made a minor error under time pressure, when he's the reason for the time pressure, is beneath contempt. I wish Mr. Dexter well for the future, especially in his next attempt on his own life (sorry, but it's immoral to profit from a problem that he created).

[r9etb]

Life imitates The Incredibles.

LOL! My thought exactly!

"You didn't save my life, you spoiled my death!"

[Stoat]

Man, these dolts tick me off!!
 

In the USA he would be a proud and fairly typical 0bama supporter.

"There are not many people who come out of hospital worse than when they went in."

As is the habit of those on the Left, the essential elements of the big picture are dismissed as irrelevant and his own culpability in the matter is ignored.  Everything is the fault of someone else, because he is The Victim.

[ZinGirl]

what a dork. He lived to whine about it. nice.

[Stoat]

it's immoral to profit from a problem that he created

And it's not classy.  He's no better than the bum who intentionally walks out in front of a responding fire truck hoping to survive with minor injuries and a massive cash settlement.

This story is all over the news in the UK, and so he will spend the rest of his life being regarded as utter scum by the honorable majority in Great Britain, including his neighbors.

I hope that the money you're getting is worth losing your dignity and respect over, Mr. Dexter.  Most of us tend to value our self-worth quite highly, and you've just sold it all for the price of a fancy car or a run-down house.

[Stoat]

what a dork. He lived to whine about it. nice.

One can only imagine how the hospital staff must be feeling.

[EnigmaticAnomaly]

""I cannot even cuddle my wife with my right hand now. I'm still able to drive but I have a job putting the keys in the ignition. I can't dry glasses or cook dinners. I used to love gardening but I don't do that now." HEY JERK-OFF....YOU WOULDN'T BE BREATHING RIGHT NOW IF THEY HADN'T SAVED YOUR PATHETIC A**!!! Man, these dolts tick me off!!"

It is amazing that this moron had the AUDACITY to sue over loss of use of his arm when his stupid A$$ wouldn't even be ALIVE had the doctors not saved him.

I say this man better pray he never needs any further medical treatment from that same hospital. If I were a surgeon there, I might just make a "mistake" on purpose while trying to help him if he ever needs another surgery so he cannot sue again...

[PfromHoGro]

“And when everyone’s special... then nobody will be.”

The Liberal’s mantra!

[SJSAMPLE]

In this case, I’d like the courts to issue an order of “specific performance”.

That is, the hospital should be required to “make whole” the plaintiff’s suicide attempt.

[Soothesayer]

Hopefully he’ll spend some of that 90k on a more effective suicide method. What a worthless piece of dung. The doctors should send letters of regret for wasting resources in saving his worthless life. That was time and money that could have been spent on a grateful child Leukemia patient.

[Soothesayer]

I wish him death by flesh eating bacteria.