§ PUBLISHED JUDGMENT · 2015

Sumner v Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust & Anor

[2015] EWHC 293 (QB)·High Court (Queen's Bench Division)·12 February 2015

A 68-year-old woman fell downstairs and broke her neck; the fracture was wrongly judged stable and she was got up and moving before surgery on 5 January 2011. Andrews J found her permanent paralysis was caused by the failure to operate and stabilise the spine by 29 December 2010.

Outcome

Claimant succeeded

Sum stated in judgment

Not stated

Claim type

Brain & Spinal Surgery Negligence

Decided

Liability and damages decided at trial

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§ WHAT HAPPENED

The facts, in brief.

Defendant: Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; St George's Healthcare NHS Trust · this trust’s claims data

Injury: Progressive tetraplegia after an unstable C6/C7 neck fracture was treated as stable and the patient mobilised in a collar

Specialty: Spinal surgery / emergency medicine · England

§ WHAT THE COURT SAID

In the judgment’s own words.

“Mrs Sumner has a number of significant permanent disabilities which I find, on the balance of probabilities, were caused by the failure to operate to stabilise her spine on or before 29 December 2010”

The money

General damages agreed at £135,000 inclusive of interest; other heads assessed separately and no overall total is stated in the judgment.

§ WHY IT MATTERS

What this case shows.

Misjudging whether a spinal fracture is stable can turn a recoverable injury into permanent paralysis. The court decided causation by tracing when her neurology got worse relative to when she was mobilised.

About brain & spinal surgery negligence claims →

§ MORE BRAIN & SPINAL SURGERY NEGLIGENCE JUDGMENTS

Claimant succeeded

Dickinson v Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

[2026] EWHC 1574 (KB)·2026·Liability and damages decided at trial

A 37-year-old alcohol-dependent man admitted for a facial abscess was not given the prophylactic vitamin B1 (Pabrinex) that guidelines required during withdrawal, which the Trust admitted was a breach. The judge found this caused Wernicke's encephalopathy and a lasting functional disorder, and set the main heads of damages including a 24-hour care regime.

Breach was admitted, so the case turned on proving the brain injury was caused by the omission rather than by pre-existing conditions. It illustrates how catastrophic-injury awards are built from a care multiplicand, case management and accommodation rather than a single headline figure.

Claim failed

Hakmi v East & North Hertfordshire NHS Trust & Anor

[2025] EWHC 2597 (KB)·2025·Liability decided at trial

An orthopaedic surgeon had a second stroke and the on-call stroke consultant, assessing by telephone because the video link was broken, decided against clot-busting treatment. The judge found documentation was poor but that thrombolysis would probably not have changed the outcome, and rejected the defendants' allegation that the claimant had faked his test results.

Poor record-keeping and a remote consultation do not win a case on their own; the claimant must show the missed treatment would have made a real difference. A defence of dishonesty needs solid evidence and failed here.

Claimant succeeded

Dee v Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust & Ors

[2023] EWHC 2765 (KB)·2023·Damages assessed at trial

A man who fell from a scooter in May 2019 alleged the ambulance crew and the A&E department failed to recognise and immobilise a spinal injury, manage his blood pressure or protect him from pressure sores. On an interim payment application the Master was satisfied he would succeed on the hand-function and pressure-sore injuries and ordered £109,006.96.

Where the evidence of breach and causation is strong, a court can order a substantial interim payment before trial to fund immediate needs, even though the final award remains to be decided.

All brain & spinal surgery negligence judgments →

Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0. Judgments from Find Case Law, The National Archives. Summaries are ours; amounts only where printed in the judgment.

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