July 19, 2017 3.51 pm This story is over 80 months old

Hospitals trust ‘disappointed’ with outcome and huge fine after patient fatally impaled on lifting hoist

The trust in charge of Lincolnshire’s hospitals has said that it is “disappointed” with the outcome of a court case which has resulted in them having to pay a fine of £1 million after they were found guilty of breaching health and safety legislation following the death of a patient at Boston Pilgrim Hospital. United Lincolnshire…
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The trust in charge of Lincolnshire’s hospitals has said that it is “disappointed” with the outcome of a court case which has resulted in them having to pay a fine of £1 million after they were found guilty of breaching health and safety legislation following the death of a patient at Boston Pilgrim Hospital.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust faced the huge fine for the death of John Biggadike, 53, from Spalding, who died in 2010 after suffering “catastrophic” internal injuries when he was impaled on a lifting hoist which was being used to assist him.

Read the full court report here.

ULHT’s director of finance, Karen Brown, said: “We are disappointed by the outcome of this court case and the settlement to the treasury but fully accept the verdict.

“We felt that it was important to defend this case, not least because of the history of two other similar incidents involving this piece of equipment which we had not been aware of at the time of Mr Biggadike’s tragic death.

“We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family of Mr Biggadike.”

In response to Lincolnshire Reporter’s request for clarification on how this would affect services the trust provides, she added: “As we will be paying back the fine in instalments of £250k a year, there will be no immediate impact on trust services or patient care.

“An additional loan will be taken from the Department of Health and work will continue to address our current deficit to get our finances back on track over the next few years.”

Hospitals trust fined £1m after man impaled on metal post, causing fatal injuries