Magician wins sizeable settlement following hospital blunder

Release date: 26/08/2011

Nationally-renowned magician Kyle Summers has won a £15,000 compensation award after George Eliot Hospital, Nuneaton, failed to deal with a severed hand tendon.

Problems emerged after Kyle was discharged from the hospital, when he discovered a chronic loss of movement and on-going loss of dexterity in his left hand. Medics were obliged to re-examine Kyle's hand before it was then correctly diagnosed and confirmed that his tendon had in fact been severed.

As a result, Kyle had to undergo two bouts of extremely painful corrective surgery, first when his carpal tunnel was re-opened, before another much denser tendon was grafted on to his hand. The injury resulted in his left arm being put in a sling and needing intensive physiotherapy. The operations also caused a temporary loss of dexterity in Kyle's left hand briefly making two key moves awkward, the so-called overhand shuffle and full pack glide.

Given Kyle is one of the country's most in-demand close-up magicians, the original incorrect diagnosis had the potential to have a huge impact on his livelihood and critically slowed up the moves for nearly two years. It also affected his ability to drive to and from events. But on-going specialist physiotherapy work has ensured Kyle got back up to full speed.

As a result of the mis-diagnosis hitting his livelihood, Kyle contacted Harvey Ingram personal injury specialist Dawn Slow.

Kyle says: "Suffering even the slightest hand impairment is an absolute nightmare for any magician. In my case, it happened at a critical time in my career, although I had been able to continue working albeit with a fair bit of discomfort in my right hand. I am now returned to full flexibility and audience feedback suggests the injury isn't obvious.

"I would hate anyone else to find themselves in my position simply because a medic missed and failed to deal with something as relatively straightforward as a severed tendon. I am delighted with the way Harvey Ingram quickly dealt with my case and the compensation goes some way to the stress, inconvenience and loss of earnings during the past two years."

Dawn Slow adds: "I am very pleased with the result. Kyle is a hugely talented individual and it would have been a tragedy if the injury had a long-term impact on his ability to perform. This type of specialist medical negligence work is an area Harvey Ingram excels at."

Kyle was born in Califonia and has held a life-long interest in the theatre, performing arts and magic. He moved to the UK in 1997 as a result of the growing demand for close-up magicians at dinner parties, presentations and events across Europe. Since then his career has taken off. He was quickly snapped up by British entertainers' union Equity and passed the entrance exam to the notoriously demanding world-renowned Magic Circle upon his first attempt.

His client list reads like a who's who of high society and includes JCB founder Lord Bamford, former Lord Chancellor Lord McKay and film director Michael Winner. Further information about Kyle can be found on his website www.kylesummers.co.uk