Federation legal support helps Steve win medical negligence compensation claim

13 May 2026

Steve Jones.

Six years ago, Steve Jones was feeling so ill that he could do little more than lay on the settee all day.

Despite numerous trips to his GP and three hospital visits, where on one occasion he was advised to eat jelly and ice cream due to problems with his stomach, he failed to get a diagnosis.

Luckily, encouraged by his partner at the time, Steve, who is a Temporary Detective Inspector with the Central Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub in the Public Protection Unit, decided to get a second opinion and a private consultant identified a cancerous tumour in his colon which was then removed.

He was fitted with a stoma, which three years later was reversed.

As a subscribing Federation member, Steve was able to access legal advice* via West Midlands Police Federation and has received a settlement of £87,500 from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust after a medical negligence case was taken up by NBB Waldrons.

“In April 2019, I was just progressively getting more and more ill,” he recalls, “I was suffering with bloating and stomach cramps and went to the hospital three times and, despite a letter from my GP querying whether there was an obstruction in my bowel, they simply failed to admit me or carry out any further investigation. It appeared like they were just not interested and since I was under 40, I was 39 at the time, they didn’t see me as a risk for this type of cancer.

“On the third visit, a colorectal consultant spent barely 10 minutes with me, said it was a virus and told me to eat jelly and ice cream. I kept thinking it must just be me and that I was making something out of nothing.”

Emergency

Luckily, his partner intervened at this point and an appointment was made at a private hospital in Solihull where the tumour was discovered and Steve, who has 24 years’ service with the Force, underwent emergency surgery that same evening, followed by six months of chemotherapy.

Once on the road to recovery, he contacted the Federation to see if he could make a claim against the NHS, partly to be compensated for everything he had been put through but also to try to prevent other people facing the same treatment as he did.

“On three separate occasions, the doctors had failed to admit me for treatment and to investigate the bowel obstruction which turned out to be bowel cancer. The basis of the case was that had they admitted me on any of those occasions when I was turned away, they would have identified the tumour and I would have been operated on earlier,” Steve explains.

“This would have avoided the need to have a stoma for three years and the need for a second major operation to reverse the stoma. If it had not been for me seeing the private consultant and being immediately referred into the NHS for emergency surgery I would have had a much worse outcome.”

The case, led by Adam Smith from NBB Waldrons, involved obtaining reports from three medical experts and also a trip to Liverpool where Steve was examined.

“It was a really lengthy process but, at the end of it, a figure for the settlement was agreed out of court thanks to Adam’s negotiations. He had said all along that it was a strong case worth pursuing and that the defendant had not properly grasped the issues in the case,” Steve explained, “If I am honest, I didn’t really expect to get anything but the support of the Federation and NBB Waldrons gave me the confidence to pursue the case. I didn’t really feel I had anything to lose.”

Adam, a medical negligence solicitor, said: “The claim was a clear example of how repeated presentations with worsening symptoms should trigger further investigation. From a legal perspective, this case was not about a single decision, but a pattern of missed opportunities.  Steve presented multiple times with symptoms that were consistent with an evolving bowel obstruction, and each of those attendances should have prompted closer scrutiny and escalation.

Consequences

“What stands out in cases like this is the difference early diagnosis can make. While Steve thankfully made a good recovery, the delay meant he underwent far more invasive treatment than would otherwise have been necessary, including living with the consequences of a stoma at a relatively young age. With the support of the Police Federation, we were able to pursue the claim robustly and achieve a settlement that recognises the avoidable impact of those missed opportunities, as well as the importance of learning from them to help prevent similar situations in the future.”

Now fully recovered, Steve is encouraging others to stand their ground when facing medical issues and not to allow themselves to be fobbed off if they know something is not right.

“I have always been very respectful of doctors, but now I will challenge them when I feel it is necessary,” he said.

As for his compensation, Steve has used some of the money to pay off a chunk of his mortgage and put some towards a newer second-hand car.

* This service is available to all subscribing members for personal injury and clinical negligence matters. It is not restricted to matters at work and is also available to family members. If you feel you might have a claim please get in touch with your local Federation representative (details of which can be found on our Find a rep page). They will then assist with submitting a C1 form to establish whether you have a claim.