Payout after medical mistakes left Cristina Malcolm with 10-minute memory

Oct 16 2009 by Laura Caroe, The Journal

A WOMAN left with a 10-minute memory after a series of medical mistakes has won a multi-million pound compensation package.

Cristina Malcolm had a brain haemorrhage which went undetected by her GP and hospital staff, leaving her with acute short-term memory loss.

The 41-year-old, who needs round-the-clock care and will be unable to ever work again after the mistakes seven years ago, took the GP and two Hospital Trusts to court, winning £4.46m.

Cristina collapsed at home with a severe headache, which she described as “the worst in her life”, but medics wrongly diagnosed her illness as a virus.

Within two weeks she had suffered a second bigger and more severe haemorrhage and had to undergo life-saving surgery to remove half a litre of blood from her brain.

Now the former paediatric anaesthetist nurse at Newcastle’s RVI is unable to plan more than 10 minutes into the future, or remember 10 minutes into the past.

With the help of John Davis, from legal firm Irwin Mitchell, her devoted and determined husband Sandy pursued a compensation claim for gross clinical negligence.

Action was taken against Dr James Harrison, of Chevely Park Medical Centre, in Durham, who first visited Cristina in her home in July 2002, County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trusts.