The doctor at the centre of a court case raised by relatives of a former patient has offered her condolences to the family after a court ruling found her to be “professionally negligent and breaching the duties of care which she owed”.
Dr Alison Smith said: “Firstly, I would like to express my apology and deepest condolences to the family of William Brown. I always strive to provide the very best care for my patients and I will reflect on the judgement.”
Dr Smith and the Craig Nevis Surgery in Fort William were sued by the family of William Brown after the Caol man passed away from a heart attack on January 6, 2011.
On Wednesday Judge Lord Armstrong ruled in favour of Mr Brown’s relatives, awarding damages in their favour following a written judgement.
Relatives of Mr Brown claimed that Dr Smith failed to diagnose that their loved one was suffering from unstable angina and also failed to refer him to hospital and prescribe the relative drugs that would have aided his condition.
Judge Armstrong wrote: “I find that Dr Smith was professionally negligent and breached the duties of care which she owed to the deceased, in that on Friday December 31 2010, she i) failed to diagnose unstable angina, ii) failed to refer him immediately to hospital iii) failed to provide appropriate worsening advice and iv) failed to prescribe the medication appropriate for a diagnosis of stable angina.”