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Picture of Janet Allan

Janet Allan

Senior Medical Negligence Solicitor in Newcastle

Janet Allan is a senior medical negligence solicitor based in Thompsons Solicitors' Newcastle office. She is the Coordinator for the National Clinical Negligence Team and Regional Head of the Newcastle Clinical Negligence Team.   Janet has over 20 years experience of dealing with personal injury compensation claims and has spent more than 10 years specialising in medical negligence claims.  ‘Janet Allan is credited with having grown the practice and has been instrumental in several recent successes’ Chambers and Partners.  The Newcastle medical negligence team are ranked in the Legal 500. They comment ‘Impressive national firm Thompsons has a track record of landmark cases.  Its Newcastle offering is headed by Janet Allan’.

Janet deals with a wide variety of different clinical negligence claims including cerebral palsy and other birth injury claims, spinal injuries from clinical negligence, surgical errors, delayed diagnosis of cancer, amputations and knee surgery.

Many of Janet's cases involve complex circumstances and life-changing injuries; therefore her experience, knowledge and commitment are essential tools in ensuring she is successful.  She always strives to recover the maximum amount of compensation available to her clients in the shortest possible time, recovering interim payments wherever possible to help with costs for more suitable property, physiotherapy and counselling etc.

Janet is a member of several legal and support organisations including The Law Society's Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme, The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), The Spinal Injuries Association and AVMA (Action Against Medical Accidents).

Successful Medical Negligence Claims

Below, you will find just a small selection of some of the clinical negligence compensation claims Janet has dealt with in the Newcastle office.

Delayed diagnosis of Bowel Cancer

In this case, Janet's client had undergone surgery some years before to remove a polyp from her bowel.  After chemotherapy treatment she returned to work but was monitored regularly by way of colonoscopies and ultrasounds.  After each test she was told that everything was fine despite the fact that she was suffering digestive problems.  Each time she mentioned her problems she was told they were caused by Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Eventually she was referred for a CT scan and MRI scan of the bowel which showed that the tumour she had removed years previously had recurred.  It also showed that the tumour was large enough to block the bowel and really should have been detected at previous examinations and colonoscopies.

Janet made a claim for compensation on her client's behalf for delayed diagnosis of bowel cancer.  It was a difficult case to deal with and she had to instruct bowel cancer experts to provide evidence.  Fault was denied by the hospital trust and court proceedings were issued but settlement reached shortly before trial. £80,000 compensation was obtained for her client.

Prescription Drugs Overdose

Janet's client in this case was a lady who was taken into hospital for a major but routine surgery.  To prevent infection whilst in hospital she was prescribed with Gentamycin.  It is well known by medical professionals that this drug should not be prescribed on a long term basis as it can cause condition called bilateral vestibulopathy failure which results in loss of hearing and balance problems.

Janet's client was prescribed the drug for several weeks and by the end of her hospital stay started to experience bouts of dizziness.  She couldn't perform the physiotherapy exercises she was given as part of her recovery plan from the operation and after tests were carried out it was confirmed that she had developed bilateral vestibulopathy failure.

There is no cure for this condition and the lady now has to walk with sticks.  She had to retire from her job on the grounds of ill health and requires permanent care.

Janet made a claim for compensation against the hospital trust in this case for the errors made prescribing drugs to her client.  She rejected several lower offers before recovering £400,000 compensation which included an amount to take into account her lost earnings up to planned retirement date and future care costs.

Cerebral Palsy Compensation

In this case, Janet's client was little girl aged just 18 months.  Her parents had suspected since birth that something was wrong but had understandably hoped that given time, she would make a recovery.

Arrangements were made for the family to see a paediatrician who diagnosed the little girl as suffering from cerebral palsy caused by a mismanaged birth.

When the client's mother had gone into the maternity unit to give birth, it had been open for only 2 days and was not equipped to monitor mother and baby correctly.  The baby was starved of oxygen during birth and suffered brain damage.

A claim was made against the hospital trust but an added difficulty was that key medical notes relating to the birth were missing.

Court proceedings were issued in this case and whilst fault was initially denied following the exchange of expert evidence and a round table discussion a significant interim payment was obtained to pay for a more suitable property for the family.  When the claim was settled fully a substantial amount of compensation was recovered. The settlement included periodical payments for the ongoing care the client would need for the rest of her life.

Medical Negligence Compensation Claim Advice

If you or anyone you know has suffered from any form of medical negligence, telephone us now for accurate claim advice.

There are strict time limits in place to make any personal injury compensation claim. For further information, contact us or visit our Questions Answered page.

Thompsons Solicitors are experts in all matters relating to clinical negligence and will be able to advise you as to whether or not you have a valid claim for compensation. Our specialist clinical negligence solicitors and lawyers will be happy to talk you through the process of making a claim in plain English and will be happy to answer any questions or queries you may have.

Telephone us now on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online personal injury compensation claim forms.