Medical negligence case study: Jamie Merrett

Jamie Merrett was left a tetraplegic after a car accident in 2002. Since then, he has been on life support at home and required constant care. He was able to use a wheelchair and talk and his intellect remained unaffected.
 
In 2009, registered nurse Violetta Aylward was providing care for Jamie. After becoming suspicious about the level of care he was receiving, Jamie emailed health officials about his concerns. When they went unanswered, he secretly had a video tape set up in his room. One day, Ms Aylward accidently turned Jamie’s ventilator off, depriving him of oxygen for the twenty one minutes until the Paramedics restarted it.
 
Jamie’s sister Karren Reynolds said that the brain damage he sustained was catastrophic. Though he had the mental capacity of an adult before the incident, Jamie now behaves as a child.
 
His life is completely changed. He doesn't have a life now," she said. "He has an existence but it's nowhere near what it was before. He is very brain damaged compared to what he was before. He was a highly intelligent man and you could have long in-depth conversations with him and now it tends to be more simplistic."
 
Ms Reynolds is now pursuing a legal claim of negligence and a compensation package on behalf of her brother.
 
A report leaked to a television programme indicated that the nursing agency who employed Ms Aylward did not supply her with proper ventilator training. Because of this, she did not know how to properly operate the machine and turned it off by accident.
 
Ms Aylward is now set to appear before the Nursing and Midwifery Council to face multiple charges of negligence.
 
The NHS Wiltshire Primary Care Trust released the following statement: "We have put in place a series of actions to ensure that such an event will not occur again either for this patient or others."

If you or anyone you know has suffered from medical negligence you can make a claim for compensation today by completing the quick Start a Claim form on the TRUE Solicitors website.