Pictured: Kyle Summers
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.
For more information about Harvey Ingram, please visit their
website here: www.harveyingram.com