Woman to wait for implant money

Fiona Beaton made a settlement over the case

A woman from Cornwall has been told she could have to wait up to four years for compensation after settling a claim over a bone implant that crumbled.

Fiona Beaton, from near Falmouth, was given the faulty device after cracking a bone in her neck in 1997.

She was awarded £30,000 compensation and £66,000 costs earlier this year.

The importers and manufacturers of the product say they are willing to pay the £30,000 - but only after paying the costs in instalments of £1,500 a month.

The money can't be paid to Fiona until all the legal fees have been paid ... that's just wrong Tim Goldburn, solicitor

Prior to the implant being inserted, she suffered pain in every part of her body - particularly her hands - following her bone cracking.

Immediately after the operation, she described the result as "miraculous".

She said: "Everything was fine for a while. There was no pain, my hands were OK and I felt brilliant."

However, after a while she started feeling pain again.

She said: "I kept going back to the doctors saying that something was wrong."

The product she was given, called Surgibone, had crumbled. It had been the subject of a safety warning by the Medical Devices Agency.

She then settled a claim against the importers and hoped to use her compensation to get things that would improve her quality of life.

But she has been told she could have to wait because the American manufacturer, which is funding the settlement, will only pay her legal costs in instalments of £1,500 a month.

Solicitor Tim Goldburn said: "The manufacturers agreed to pay both the compensation and all the legal fees.

"Under Legal Services Commission rules, the money can't be paid to Fiona until all the legal fees have been paid.

"It means that for four years she's not going to be given her money, and that's just wrong."

A spokesman for Hymed (Unilab) UK Limited, the importers of the bone implant fitted in Fiona's neck, said it was the best offer that the American manufacturers would fund.

Fiona Beaton said: "I've to wait four years, but I want it now to get on with the rest of my life."