Eddie Amani is planning a New Year High Court legal action in which he is blaming hospital doctors in London’s East End for leaving him “disabled for life” after an operation that went wrong.
The 54-year-old former retail sales manager was left “medically unemployed” after an operation on his spine at the London Independent Hospital in Stepney Green said to have been carried out without a leg pump compression to keep his blood flowing, which he claims caused blood clots to his lungs.
“It created a problem four days later when I collapsed, later diagnosed with multiple embalisms in the lungs,” Eddie told the East London Advertiser.
“I’m thankful I got those blood clots which were a warning that something had gone wrong—otherwise I would be dead. I am lucky to be alive.”
Eddie sits in his 10th floor flat in Lanterns Way on the Isle of Dogs sorting through a mountain of paperwork involving the hospital, his lawyers and the Parliamentary Medical Ombudsman going back to 2013, reported in the Advertiser last month.
“I wasn’t given a risk assessment on the day of the operation,” he maintains. “I didn’t have leg pumps put on before I had a major spinal operation for decompression and fusion.”
Eddie was an NHS patient at the Royal London in Whitechapel in a long waiting queue who was sent to the nearby London Independent to speed up his urgent treatment, although he now bitterly regrets that decision.
He demanded to be transferred back to the Royal London for emergency surgery which he says corrected what had gone wrong—but was left disabled and having to wear back support and use a wheelchair for mobility. He can only get about aided by his walking-stick and has to have a daily help call at his home to see to basic domestic functions.
Eddie took his case to the Parliamentary Health Ombudsman on June 5, 2015, which later held up his complaint and set a compensation level of £500. The London Independent has since apologised to Eddie and sent him the £500 statutory compensation—but he returned the cheque.
“It’s not about money,” Eddie insists. “I want to name and shame them. I nearly lost my life by what they did to me—I want people to know.”
The Ombudsman report also noted that his medical records had been altered by the hospital after he was transferred to the Royal London.
The BMI London Independent doesn’t comment on individual care. But it did confirm Eddie’s complaint when contacted by the Advertiser last month.
A hospital spokesman said: “Should a patient have cause to complain, this is investigated and responded to in accordance with our complaints policy.
“In the event, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman investigates the matter and we follow the recommendations, including any payments the Ombudsman recommends be made to the patient.”
Eddie is now instructing lawyers to take action for medical negligence which he says has left him disabled for life and needing permanent care and financial support.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here