Medical negligence case study: Daniel Stalker

When his wife became pregnant with their fourth child, Daniel Stalker decided to have a vasectomy. Mr. Stalker went to Family Planning and Well Woman clinic in Edinburgh to have the procedure performed on 7 May 1996. When Dr Paul Dewart began the procedure, Mr. Stalker protested three times that he still had feeling in the surgical site. Dr Dewart continued to operate, causing Mr. Stalker to double over in pain and vomit. His testicles turned black and swollen.

Two years later, Mr Stalker made the decision to have his testicles removed after experiencing horrible pain since the botched operation. Unfortunately, the procedure did not bring relief. 

Mr Stalker’s family was forced to provide him with long-term care due to his debilitating pain. His eldest daughter quit her job and moved from Australia to help care for her father. The former soldier was partially bedridden and attempted suicide five different times. Mr. Stalker described the situation as “pure hell”.

As a result, he filed a medical negligence claim asking for one million pounds in compensation.

When senior judge Lord Uist heard the case in 2008, he found in favor of Mr Stalker. "On a consideration of the whole evidence on this point, I find that the pursuer suffered neuropathic pain… when Dr Dewart inserted an instrument into an unanaesthetised part of his scrotum in the course of blunt dissection during the attempted vasectomy procedure," said Lord Uist in his written opinion. 

Dr Dewart had not completed his clinical notes and Lord Uist found he had written misleading letters regarding the operation to Mr Stalker’s GP. When questioned, the doctor stated he could not remember the specifics of the operation. Lord Uist questioned this claim: “His assertion that he could not remember what had happened lacked credibility.”

Daniel Stalker was awarded compensation in the amount of one million pounds for Dr Dewart’s negligence.