£30,000 damages to family of man, 88, given drug that worsened Parkinson’s

DAMAGES HAVE been paid to the family of an elderly patient with Parkinson’s disease who was given a drug which worsens the condition.

A legal claim was launched over the treatment of the 88-yearold man at Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust.

The trust admitted that the patient was wrongly given Tetrabenazine, medication which accelerated his disease by 12 months, in April 2013.

But the organisation denied an allegation that the unnamed man had been suffering from Parkinson’s for eight years before he was properly diagnosed. Mike Wright, chief nurse at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We apologise to the patient for the upset caused.

“We admitted a breach of duty for the inappropriate prescribing of medication.

“However, we denied further allegations made by the solicitors’ firm including a delay in diagnosis and this has been accepted as part of the legal settlement.”

A £30,000 settlement was agreed after a legal claim was launched by Hudgell Solicitors.

The patient was first referred to Hull Royal Infirmary in June 2005 by his GP over possible Parkinson’s.

Hudgell Solicitors said a consultant neurologist who gave expert evidence in the case said it was likely he had been suffering from the illness all along.

The man suffered loss of movement, falls and factures as a result of the condition. Medical negligence specialist Helena Wood said: “Within days of being prescribed the correct medication, the patient began to feel significantly better. “He began sleeping properly and he didn’t have any more falls. He was also able to walk with a stick, whereas before he required a walking frame or a wheelchair.

“He no longer suffers with facial rigidity or drooping, and his tremors have significantly reduced. He now feels that he has a good quality of life, whereas prior to the diagnosis, he felt that he had no quality of life.”