A Tayside widower has launched a £150,000 damages action against Tayside Health Board after his wife died from hepatitis B, contracted during a routine procedure at Ninewells Hospital.
Diabetic Pamela Shaw was 61 when she was admitted to hospital in 2011 for treatment to alleviate fluid retention in the stump of her right leg, amputated two years earlier.
The former pharmacy assistant became seriously ill after contracting hepatitis B from a patient who was in the same ward.
Ninewells’ medical director Dr Andrew Russell later visited grieving John Shaw at his home and offered an apology but told him he did now know exactly how the cross-contamination of the disease occurred.
Dirty equipment was the most likely cause of transmission, according to the writ.
Mr Shaw, 66, from Eassie in Angus, has now lodged a personal injuries action claiming for “loss, injury and damage sustained through the defender’s negligence”.
The six-figure action was mounted at Dundee Sheriff Court but is now the subject of an application for transfer to the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
Mr Shaw told The Courier he was devastated by the loss of his wife of more than 40 years after she had battled health difficulties including Crohn’s disease and the diabetes which led to the amputation.
He said: “She had a difficult life because of her ailments but she was only 61 and I felt we were going be together for a long time.
“I’m angry that she had gone through all that and then because of someone’s mistake she died.”
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