Deep sea diver sues NHS for more than £200k over career-ending negligence

Stephen Cargill worked as a deep sea diver until a fall from a ladder caused him to shatter his right ankle

A deep sea diver is suing the NHS over alleged negligent medical treatment of an ankle injury that ended his career.

Stephen Cargill, 60, claims he was forced to hang up his diving suit permanently after a “botched” operation to an injury he suffered when falling off a ladder at his home.

Mr Cargill is suing the NHS for compensation of more than £200,000.

He blames Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, saying the treatment he received in June 2017 after his falls left him with a deformed foot, a limp, and he finds it difficult to walk on uneven ground.

Mr Cargill, who had worked as an offshore saturation diver claims he has been left at a disadvantage on the open labour market as a result of his injuries and now works as a lorry driver with an automatic gearbox, a job that requires minimal walking.

He told The Telegraph: “I was badly let down by the NHS. I broke down reading the consultant’s report of what had actually gone wrong with my treatment, it all made so much sense. It was horrendous and it should never have come to this.

“I could still be working offshore if it wasn’t for this. You’d think with all its expertise the NHS would have been able to look after me properly.

Saturation divers can earn £1,500 a day, working at depths of 1,000 feet at the bottom of the ocean.

Stephen Cargill would work at depths of 1,000 feet at the bottom of the ocean

The divers, who live in a pressurised environment inside ships, sometimes for weeks on end, and then are able to go to work deep underwater, with one major decompression right at the end of a project.

They carry out construction and demolition work in darkness split only by lights on their heads, breathing pressurised air, and commuting between ship and work in a pressurised diving bell.

To avoid the painful and sometimes fatal condition known as the bends, divers need to decompress for several hours before fully surfacing and they frequently take a number of days to emerge from the ocean floor.

X-rays showed Mr Cargill’s fall had shattered his right ankle, which was confirmed by a CT scan that showed multiple small bony fragments around his ankle.

Later that evening he was sedated while a surgeon tried to reduce the fracture, before deciding that he should undergo surgery in theatre under anaesthetic.

But legal documents lodged with the High Court by Simpson Millar, Mr Cargill’s lawyers, show that this had to be abandoned because he had already received maximum sedation.

Mr Cargill was returned to the operating theatre early on June 23, but his legal team claims that neither a consultant nor a senior surgeon were called to help with the operation, which had to be abandoned with what he claims was part of his ankle in a dislocated position compressing nerves.

He was eventually transferred to the trauma centre at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, but claims the clinicians at Bedford Hospital failed to appreciate the seriousness of his injury, and did not communicate this to Addenbrooke’s to ensure his transfer was speedy.

It is claimed that by the time he underwent surgery at Addenbrooke’s on June 26, he needed a more complex surgery than he would have done, including fusing of his right ankle with an external fixator, and he remained in hospital on June 30, he says.

The court will hear that it took more than a year for the ankle to heal and the frame to be removed, and he still suffers with pain, nerve damage, and numbness.

Repeat failings

Mr Cargill accuses the trust of failing to recognise the severity and full extent of his injury, failing to ensure supervision and treatment from a consultant orthopaedic trauma surgeon despite the severity, rarity and complexity of his injury, failing to reduce the pressure on the nerves during an unsuccessful surgery, and failing to operate before he was transferred to Addenbrooke’s, especially when he claims it was clear that the transfer was delayed because of a lack of available beds rather than urgency of treatment.

He claims the NHS trust was negligent in failing to provide him with appropriate, reasonable and skilful treatment, exposing him to an unnecessary risk of pain and injury.

The former diver’s lawyers will claim that if his ankle had been treated properly, his symptoms would probably have been temporary and would have resolved fully, meaning he could have returned to full-time work until he was 70.

Instead he says he has to wear orthotics, can only walk for about 25 minutes until his pain is too great, cannot carry trays or boxes up and down stairs, cannot carry items very far, and feels too unsteady to use a ladder.

Previously prone to depression, Mr Cargill’s condition relapsed and he needed antidepressant medication, as well as cognitive behavioural therapy, the claim states.

He has also been left unable to return to his hobbies of cycling, dog walking, badminton and motorcycling, and has put on three stone in weight, it is claimed.

“I’m fortunate I’ve got a driving job that doesn’t require me to walk too far or work on the trailers, but I’ve gone through hell to get to this point,” he said. “I’ve had moments when I’ve thought about the worst. I was in a very dark place and nothing was off the cards, I was so low at some points. I felt as if I let down my wife and family with what happened. Though I’m still in pain I’m fortunately in a better place now, but it’s thanks to them.”

Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles - and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.