Teenage boy settles case for delay in hearing loss diagnosis

The client was admitted to hospital when he was 15 months old. He was unwell with a fever and vomiting, possible neck stiffness and general irritability.

Doctors suspected herpes simplex viral encephalitis, a serious infection that affects the brain, and treated him with antibiotics and acyclovir. He was discharged 10 days later.

However, it wasn’t until almost two and a half years later that doctors diagnosed the client with deafness in his right ear and partial deafness in his left ear.

The client had significant hearing loss, which raised questions about how the delay in diagnosis may have affected his development.

He was also diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome and autism. These additional diagnoses made it difficult to establish which of his developmental and behavioural difficulties were linked to the delay in diagnosing his hearing loss.

The client would have experienced some hearing loss regardless of the delay. The legal claim therefore needed to distinguish between the effects of his underlying condition and any additional harm caused by the delayed diagnosis.

The delay in identifying the client’s hearing loss added to the challenges he and his family faced during his early years.

His family had to navigate uncertainty about his hearing and development, alongside his other diagnoses. Establishing what difference an earlier diagnosis might have made was an important part of the claim.

The case also took many years to resolve, leaving the family waiting for an outcome while the complex medical evidence was considered.

The team on the case obtained expert reports to understand the client’s medical history and the potential effects of the delayed diagnosis.

The experts included specialists in clinical virology, audiology, educational psychology, speech and language therapy, and paediatric neurology. Their evidence helped assess the client’s hearing loss and the possible impact on his development.

A Letter of Claim was sent to the NHS Trust in March 2012, setting out the allegations of negligence. The Trust responded in July 2012 and admitted that there had been a delay in diagnosing the client’s deafness.

However, it required the client to provide evidence of what an earlier diagnosis would have changed. This meant the team still had to establish the extent of the additional harm linked to the delay.

The claim was complicated by the client’s diagnoses of Tourette’s syndrome and autism. It was difficult to separate the effects of delayed hearing loss diagnosis from the impact of these other conditions.

The Trust initially offered £3,000 to settle the claim. The team rejected this offer and continued negotiations to establish a fair amount of compensation.

The team carefully considered the medical evidence and the difficulties in assessing the impact of the delay. This work helped move the claim towards a settlement that better reflected the circumstances.

The claim was approved at a hearing in March 2022 and settled for £40,000.

The settlement brought an end to years of uncertainty for the client and his family. It recognised the difficulties involved in establishing the effects of the delay alongside the client’s other diagnoses.

Dr Mala Sidebottom said:

“I was pleased to bring this matter to a close after all the years of uncertainty for my client. The settlement will allow him and his family to move forward with their lives, particularly given the difficult start to my client’s life.”

The client’s parents also said:

“We would just like to say how brilliant you all were and how you all made it stress free for us as we had had our son’s interests and wellbeing to deal with as well, plus we didn’t have a clue where to start.”

Finding out that a diagnosis was delayed can leave families with questions about whether earlier treatment could have made a difference. When a child’s development is also affected by other conditions, understanding the impact can be especially complex.

Fletchers can help you understand your options if you believe a delay in diagnosis or treatment has caused avoidable harm.

Find out more about our medical negligence claims service.

Contact us today to speak to our team.