Problems Caused Because Doctor Missed an Object in the Back of the Eye

It was admitted by the Defendant that our client should have been referred for further investigations to exclude the possibility of a metal fragment in his eye in 2015.

In 2015 our client suffered an eye injury at work whilst using a hammer and chisel on the breaks of a lorry when a small piece of metal dislodged.  The fragment collided painfully with his left eye, which immediately filled with blood.

A colleague was able to get him to a doctor, who advised him to go to A&E.  After undergoing some tests, he was told that the metal fragment had bounced off his eye, creating a scar.  He was given some cream to prevent the scarring from getting worse and then discharged.  The blood began to clear from his eye and he returned to work immediately with no further problems.

Over a year passed without issue and then one day at work our client experienced some disturbance in his vision.  He initially thought this was a case of “welder’s flash” as it had occurred whilst welding.  As he experienced no pain, he expected the problem to pass quickly.  Unfortunately the next day when he awoke he had lost all vision in his left eye.

Attending A&E again, the vision loss was confirmed and a specialist suspected a problem with the back of his eye.  The next day, investigations revealed a detached retina and he was referred to another hospital for urgent surgery.  A few days later, and after more tests, the doctor discovered a small object in his eye.  A CT scan confirmed the presence of a foreign body which was in fact the metal which had collided with his eye when working on the brakes of the lorry in 2015.  Soon after, our client underwent surgery to reattach the retina and remove the metal fragment.

The following day, when our client’s eye patch was removed, some vision had been restored however it was blurry.  Over the next few months, he experienced migraines, pain and further disturbance to his vision with repeated problems of his retina detaching.  He underwent surgery another four times to reattach the retina which had been badly damaged by the metal fragment.

Our client never regained sight in his left eye due to the damage caused by the undetected metal fragment.  He suffered pain, discomfort and loss of amenity as well as loss of earnings, pension and significant expenses. 

It was admitted by the Defendant that our client should have been referred for further investigations to exclude the possibility of a metal fragment in his eye in 2015. Had this been done, the Defendant admitted that earlier treatment would have been provided and our client would have avoided damage to his retina and retained normal or near normal vision in his left eye.

The matter was settled for a 5-figure sum to compensate for his losses.