December 2020

Nick’s Tragic Story: A delayed diagnosis and its consequences

Nick suffered a massive stroke when doctors attempted to remove a tumour that should have been diagnosed and treated several years earlier. Tragically, he passed away a few years later from a cardiac arrest.

Pursuing a Medical Negligence Claim

Janine Collier, Partner in Tees’ medical negligence team, supported Nick’s widow in pursuing a claim against Nick’s optician and ophthalmologist. The claim was based on a delay in investigating a visual field defect, a known indicator of a brain tumour.

A life full of promise

Nick, a man in his 40s, was fit, healthy, and happily married to Barbara. He had always worked hard to provide for his family, and together, they looked forward to a long and fulfilling retirement.

However, their plans were shattered when Nick was diagnosed with a brain tumour and subsequently suffered a catastrophic stroke due to surgical complications.

The initial warning signs

Years before his diagnosis, Nick visited his local optician for blurred vision in one eye. After conducting a visual field test, the optician diagnosed him with a lazy eye. Despite Nick’s concerns, the optician referred him to the ophthalmology department at his local hospital.

The ophthalmologist concluded that Nick had impending presbyopia, a common age-related vision condition, and discharged him without further investigation.

A devastating diagnosis

More than five years later, Nick experienced blurred vision, speech difficulties, and weakness in his arm and leg. Brain imaging revealed a pituitary adenoma, a brain tumour pressing on critical structures.

As Nick’s condition worsened, he underwent surgery to remove the tumour. Due to its size and invasiveness, only a partial removal was possible. Sadly, during a subsequent surgery, Nick suffered a major stroke, causing permanent damage.

Living with the aftermath

The stroke left Nick with severe mobility and vision impairments. No longer able to work, he relied heavily on Barbara for care. Despite these challenges, the couple faced their new reality together.

Unexpectedly, Nick passed away four years later from a heart attack.

How Tees supported Nick and Barbara

Nick and Barbara were devastated by the diagnosis and its consequences. They suspected the tumour should have been identified sooner and approached Tees for legal advice.

Janine Collier said, “When I met Nick and Barbara, I was struck by their resilience and devotion to each other. I wanted to help them understand what had happened and ensure they had financial security for the future.”

After reviewing the evidence, Janine discovered that the optician had detected a visual field defect—a clear sign of a brain tumour. However, this critical information was not relayed to the ophthalmologist, who failed to investigate further.

Had the tumour been diagnosed earlier, it would have been smaller, making surgery less complex and preventing the stroke. Nick would have retained his vision and avoided the life-altering consequences.

Seeking justice

Both the optician and the hospital denied liability, leading to court proceedings. The case was eventually settled after Nick’s passing.

Barbara later expressed her gratitude: “You really have made things as painless as possible, Janine. It’s been hard without Nick, but I know he’d be pleased that I don’t have to worry financially and can support our daughters.”

Compassionate legal support from Tees

At Tees, we understand the emotional and financial toll of medical negligence. Our experienced clinical negligence lawyers are here to provide compassionate support and guide you through every step of your claim, from the initial consultation to achieving a financial settlement.

If you believe you or a loved one have suffered due to medical negligence, contact our team today to discuss how we can help you seek justice.

The pandemic forced us to make fundamental changes to the way we all live and work which has in turn, created new challenges but also opportunities for businesses of all sizes to think about how and where they do business. Many of us have got used to working from home but for most retail, manufacturing, hospitality and even some service industries, this is simply not an option, so business premises will be needed.

In order to ensure your commercial property transaction (whether it be the grant of a lease, transfer of an existing lease, purchase of a freehold or anything related) is as streamlined as possible, well-drafted Heads of Terms are essential.

In this article Jane Winfield, Partner and expert commercial property lawyer, highlights how Heads of Terms can bring clarity and focus for both parties in the transaction, as well as provide the basis for subsequent negotiations.

What are Heads of Terms?

Heads of Terms are essentially a document which sets out the terms of a commercial transaction that are agreed in principle between the parties involved. As commercial property lawyers, if we are provided with comprehensive Heads of Terms, this will enable us to create a legal document that accurately reflects what each party is looking to achieve in the transaction and the parties can then agree how to proceed by way of a definitive agreement.

If you’re about to undertake a commercial property transaction, talk to us today.

What makes good Heads of Terms?

There are different Heads of Terms for different transactions. Where the grant of a lease is involved, there are a number of items you will need to consider; you may need to take advice from a number of different sources including your legal adviser, surveyor, bank (if loan finance is needed), building contractor, architect or accountant.

Such items include:

Property – What are its boundaries? Are you taking on responsibility for the interior and exterior under a lease? What about air space above? Do you need rights of access over adjoining property or the landlord’s property? Where will you be able to park? Are you expecting the have the benefit of any other areas outside of the property boundary? Do you want to be able to build upwards?
Title to the property – What legal estate or title are you acquiring? Does the freeholder have a good title to the property? If you are being granted a lease, does the “owner” own the freehold or itself have a leasehold title? If the latter, does the consent of another landlord need to be obtained? Will there be a need to enter other separate documents with third parties, for example, deeds of covenant?
Length of term of a lease – How long are you likely to want to remain in that property? Do you want to have the ability to stay at the end of the length of the term of the lease? Do you expect to be able to vacate easily at the end of the term or do you want the right to remain at the property and to build your business and goodwill?

In commercial property leases it is common for the parties to agree a term of, say, 10 years but to include a right for the tenant to break the lease after the first five years of the term. This is called a “tenant break right”.

If you want flexibility, should you be thinking about requesting a break right? Is it reasonable for the landlord also to be granted a break right? If so, what is the quid pro quo for the landlord having flexibility? What conditions are to be attached to the exercise of the break right? How often would you want to have the break right available and on what period of notice should it be exercised? Is the break right to be personal to you as the tenant or to anyone who may take the lease from you in the future?

Repair – What part of the property are you responsible for in terms of repair and other tenant covenants? Is it the interior only or the entire building? If the latter, is there a service charge? If the property is not in a great state of repair, do not assume that you have to give it back to the landlord in a similar state of repair!
Assignment and subletting – Can you transfer the lease to a third party or sublet either the whole or part to a third party? Please note that even if you can, you will be responsible for the landlord’s costs.
Alterations and fit-out – Do you have plans to carry out fit-out works at the property when you move in? If so, you should get those details agreed with your prospective landlord as part and parcel of the lease negotiations so that you can avoid having to make a separate application to the landlord for consent at a later stage. Do you want to have the ability to carry out general alterations without landlord’s consent (and thus having to pay the landlord’s legal and professional costs)?
Rental – What is the agreed level of rental? You will need to take specialist advice on this. Will there be a rent review and how will that rent review be dealt with? Is it on an open market “upwards only” basis or an RPI increase linked basis? Should you be seeking a rent-free period?
Other security – Will the landlord expect other security, for example, the payment of a rent deposit or the provision of guarantors? How long will the landlord hold the deposit for? Who could stand as guarantor if the landlord requires this?
Service charge – Even if you believe that you will only be responsible for the repair of the interior of a property as a tenant, it is possible that you will also have to contribute towards the repair of the exterior and any other facilities under a service charge. Do you know enough about the potential service charge before you enter into the lease negotiations? Is it appropriate to request a service charge cap or a carve out of service charge liability in the Heads of Terms Agreement?
Insurance – Who will be insuring the premises and what is the cost of the premium? What risks are covered?
Permitted use – What can you use the property for and will this give you enough flexibility to be able to transfer the lease in the future? What is the impact of the permitted use on rent review provisions?
Costs – Is each party to be responsible for payment of its own costs in connection with the preparation of the legal documentation? A tenant might be asked to make a contribution towards the landlord’s costs or to give an undertaking to be responsible for the landlord’s costs if the tenant withdraws from the transaction. Have you allowed for this within your cashflow?

Are Heads of Terms legally binding?

It is important that all correspondence relating to any proposed property transaction is marked “subject to contract” so that there is no possibility that the heads of terms become legally binding and therefore constitute a contract in themselves. Also, be aware that a contract or a lease does not have to be written for it to be binding.

Here to help

At Tees, we are very happy to advise you on Heads of Terms once they have been drafted, outlining any particular concerns and identifying any areas where further clarification is needed. We’re here to ensure you’ll be well set up for the property side of your exciting new venture.

We have many specialist lawyers who are based in:

Cambridgeshire: Cambridge
Essex: Brentwood, Chelmsford, and Saffron Walden
Hertfordshire: Bishop’s Stortford and Royston

But we can help you wherever you are in England and Wales.