to be upset that Leslie Ash has been awarded £500,000 compensation

[nametaken]

for catching MRSA in hospital, when my mother was awarded £8,000 for a botched cataract operation.

needmorecoffee I am quite humbled after reading your post - I feel bad now for moaning about my otherwise healthy mums botched cataract (which was corrected eventually, thank you everyone who asked).

Yes, I think they do take future earnings into account and I suppose the posters who say she will never work again are correct, so from that point of view, perhaps it is needed.

Also when she gets older she may well need expensive all day care, which she sure won't get from that twat she married.

her my space at 47 yr old with a my space page.

Did she really end up in hospital due to having rough sex? Blimey, what exactly were they doing??????

It was said that she fractured her ribs during a vigorous sex session but it is widely believed that she was the victim of domestic violence.

i think the myspace is a piss take, esp the 'my new boyfriend' bit.

nametaken - thanks. Her DH looks a nasty piece of work. Shame she didn't leave him .

she also apparently contracted toxoplasmosis when she was 2 months pg (not that it's relevant to this debate - but thought i'd mention it anyhow)

Whenever you go into hospital for an operation you are warned beforehand about complications.

Just think of all the money going on compensation. The next time there is not a bed on a ward/not enough staff to look after you etc it is probably because a huge amount of the NHS budget has gone on compensation.

In this country everything seems to be someone elses fault. We need to start taking responsibility for ourselves.

As for MRSA and other infections, the number of times I have asked relatives to take their dirty shoes off a patients bed and been given verbal abuse in return must run into the thousands.

Can anybody tell me who actually decides levels of compensation?

Just because you are warned beforehand about complications doesn't mean that you have a choice about whether or not you have the operation.

Also, if you are brought into hospital unconscious you cannot then be warned about complications before they operate.

We can all take responsibility for ourselves but we cannot be responsible for microbes that have developed a tolerance to anti-biotics can we? Is that our fault?

The trial judge Sherby. Or the lawyers if she settled out of court, based on previously decided cases.

Her loss of earnings would have increased the award together with considerable loss of amenity since the accident and likely to continue. The aim of damages is to put her in the position as if the accident hasn't happened, as far as £££ ever can. Her celebrity only affects her earnings - the rest is the same as for any other person.

Also the complications and risks of operations are very different from the risks of being a patient in the hospital in the first place.

duchesse, I'm sorry but soldiers don't sign up thinking of the dangers. why are they not entitled to a decent amount of compensation. There is a story of a soldier who lost a leg in an explosion in Iraq/Afghanistan and now has to PROVE he's disabled!!!WTF!!! An RAF secretary got nearly £500,000 comp for RSI but blown up soldiers who can't live a "normal" life don't get enough to buy a small house!! Who decides how much people get? Maybe they should meet some of the victims and find out what they actually need?

I'm sure her compensation reflects her lack of potential for future earnings.

What annoys me is the way the story is always reported as an example of a superbug. MSSA is not a super bug, its a normal skin organism present on all of us.

Also any normal person would never in a million years get an epidural for pain relief for broken ribs in an NHS hospital. It is not recomended by NICE and just wouldn't be done for your avaerage punter.

I dont begrudge L.A. her money. My understanding is that she was in a private hospital, or is that wrong? If so, they will be likely to pay more. I quite agree there should be equity and equality across theboard and respect the arguments re soldiers and Mumsnet relatives who have suffered and been inadequately compensated. I also have a son with special needs who I know for sure was damaged at birth but will never prove it. I also have a very large scar on my back from a large hole caused by an infection post chemo and you can bet that was hospital related but you know what; you have to not envy someone who fights and gets what they deserve. Lets face it, she was not hurt by reasonable or unforseen circumstances but NEGLIGENCE. Of course other people deserve as much and her high profile has probably helped but at the end of the day thats not her fault. Agree though about the Husband allegedly a Twat though. What can you do? As Tony Soprano would say

an epidural for pain relief for broken ribs?

how odd, i thought those were for the lower half of your body.

unless she had some other unspecified injuries.

Is Leslie Ash still with the same man? Ex footballer right?

oooo - hello expat - what time did you roll into bed the other night then

(sorry for thread hi-jack}

Disagree, elfsmummy.

Don't know whether Nice guidelines specifically mention analgesia for rib fractures, but thoracic epidural is a recognised treatment for pain associated with rib fractures. Maybe she had had oral analgesia and it hadn't been effective.

FAQ, i'm still on night shift whilst DD1 comes through chicken pox.

she finally fell asleep at around 4!

she's still got quite a few fluid filled blisters on her back.

very worried about dd2 when she gets it.

• oh no!

Why are you worried about DD2 (wondering what I've missed.....) DS2 was got less spots (but bigger - so still covered) than DS1 - and you'd hardly have known he had it if it wasn't for the fact he was......ermm rather spotty

an American study

I have been a nursing assistant for many years and can I just say that at the hospital where I worked we treated ALL patients equally. If we thought that a patient needed an epidural then that person would get one. It's nonsense to suggest that nursing staff are in awe of minor celebs and give them epidurals they don't need.