A Perth man left permanently disabled after doctors damaged a nerve in his arm while inserting a catheter has been awarded a $450,000 pay-out by the State Government.
Seville Grove grandfather Roy Martin received permanent damage to his right arm following the 2012 procedure which has left him unable to continue work as a telecommunications lecturer.
A WA court has awarded a man $450,000 compensation for medical negligence that left him permanently disabled. Photo: Gabriele Charotte
The 63-year-old suffered his injuries after doctors at Armadale-Kelmscott Memorial District Hospital attempted to insert a catheter into his arm to administer antibiotics in November 2012.
Despite medical observation records showing Mr Martin complained about arm soreness dozens of times in the weeks following the failed catheter insertion, doctors at AKMDH and Fremantle Hospital, where he was later transferred, did not operate on the injury until three months later.
On Friday, District Court of WA Judge Michael Bowden ruled Mr Martin’s disability could have been avoided if medical staff had treated his compressed nerve within two weeks – which is the widely accepted timeframe for such a procedure.
He dismissed the defence’s argument that 12 weeks was an acceptable time to wait for the surgery and that Mr Martin was unfit to work due to an unrelated back injury which had left him unable to walk.
“I am not satisfied that Dr Hamilton’s ‘watch, wait, see and monitor’ approach is widely accepted practice,” he said.
“Professor Thompson, Dr Allison and Dr Gillett agreed that Mr Martin is not fit to return to his previous role as a lecturer given his ongoing limitations and restrictions with his right hand. I accept this evidence.”
Mr Martin was granted $444,254 for general damages, past and future loss of earnings, future medical expenses and future carer services and home modification requirements.