Tim Deeming acted for teenager left paralysed after operation
Who? Tim Deeming, 33, medical negligence associate at national firm Irwin Mitchell.
Why is he in the news? Acted for a teenager left paralysed from the waist down after a routine operation to remove gallstones. Sophie Tyler, now 17, from Newport, South Wales, underwent gallstone surgery in May 2008 at Birmingham Children’s Hospital (BCH). An epidural inserted into her spine to control the pain was left in place for two days, despite Tyler complaining of numbness first in one leg and then in both.
Three days after the operation, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan revealed that the anaesthetic from the epidural had entered the spinal cord and damaged the membranes, paralysing her from the waist down.
In the light of expert evidence, the hospital admitted liability. BCH chief medical officer Dr Vin Diwakar said: ‘We are deeply sorry for the unimaginable distress we have caused Sophie and her family as a result of the care she received at our hospital three years ago. The care we provided fell below our usual high standards and since then we have implemented a series of changes to ensure that this never happens again.’
Thoughts on the case: ‘This case has allowed our client to access justice and secure the lifetime of future care she needs, but would not have been possible without the support of legal aid. Sophie’s family, and her legal team, fear that government plans to cut legal aid could leave future claimants unrepresented.’
Dealing with the media: ‘The media has been sympathetic and knowledgeable, seeing the bigger picture about the future of legal aid funding.’
Why become a lawyer? ‘To help people who have been let down by the system and generally improve patient safety.’
Career highpoint: ‘Helped a firefighter who had suffered a below-knee amputation to become the first in Europe to return to firefighting with a prosthetic limb.’
Career low point: ‘On my first day as a trainee - not at Irwin Mitchell - I found myself attending two case management conferences. It was a case of sink or swim and somehow I kept my head above water.’
