Campaign dedicates entire day to raise awareness of thrombosis

It has been much reported that news outlets are changing. In particular, the way young people access the news has changed dramatically; it is no longer from newspapers and nightly TV news bulletins but from social media and other tech sources, such as the hugely popular Buzzfeed.

It’s therefore fantastic that Buzzfeed have dedicated one of their major articles to World Thrombosis Day which is happening on 13 October 2016.

As the Buzzfeed article mentions, World Thrombosis Day is an important way of getting more people to be aware of thrombosis, often shortened to VTE, as 25% of deaths in the Western World are linked to the condition.

Thrombosis is a very serious medical condition which can have devastating and sometimes fatal consequences.

When reading the article, two tragic cases came to mind which PotterReesDolan have been pursuing on behalf of the patients and their families.

In the first matter, a young mother injured the bottom of her leg during an exercise class. She went to her local hospital and, despite the fact that she had clear risk factors for VTE, the doctors failed to recognise the risk or provide her with medication, known as anticoagulants, which could have prevented the formation of VTE or a clot.

Sadly, as a result of the failure to recognise the risks and to treat her, the young woman developed a clot which moved up to her lungs and heart. She collapsed and was given a drug known as a ‘clot-buster’ which saved her life but which caused her to suffer a bleed on the brain.

She has now been left with significant disabilities, is unable to care for herself or her children and will need care and support for the rest of her life. Whilst we cannot change what has happened to her, we were able to pursue her claim against the hospital who admitted to some failings and have agreed that they will be responsible for providing compensation to ensure she receives the care she needs.

In the second matter, the individual involved was out and about when he slipped and fell on ice. He was taken to hospital where his risk of VTE was recognised and he was provided with anticoagulants. Unfortunately, despite the anticoagulants, he still developed a clot.

However, those treating him failed to treat the clot with the necessary aggressive clot-busting drugs and he sadly passed away as a result. Nothing we do will bring the family back their father and husband but we hope to be able to demonstrate to them exactly what happened and ensure that they receive an apology from the hospital at the very least.

Organisers of World Thrombosis Day hope to make people aware of the condition which is often overlooked by helping them understand the risk and the burden of thrombosis. Campaigns are also running around the world to encourage people to keep moving in order to reduce their chances of blood clots by getting up and moving at least every 90 minutes which surprisingly people fail to do.