A man who nearly died after losing over six pints of blood during surgery has received a five-figure pay out.

John Evans, from Barnet, suffered from persistent ear problems since 2009 having previously tried fixes which had not been successful in the long term

Scans undertook in 2012 confirmed he had an 8mm crack in his skull and this was allowing the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounding his brain to leak out of his ear.

During the corrective surgery at BUPA’s private Harley Streen ENT clinic, John suffered a haemorrhage as the surgeon ruptured a blood vessel which took several hours to get under control.

During this time Mr Evans nearly died after losing six units (around six pints) of blood from his head.

Contacting medical negligence solicitors Fletchers, he sued the surgeon for £37,500 including around £9,500 for private medical fees reimbursed.

As well as providing substandard treatment, it was alleged that during the surgery the surgeon failed to ascertain assistance from a neurosurgeon and used an incorrect technique.

The 53-year-old said: “The surgery was only meant to take an hour or so but it ended up taking over seven hours before it was abandoned.

“According to a nurse in the recovery room, at one point I flat lined for a couple of seconds, which is an incredibly scary thought.

“The scars are a permanent reminder of what happened to me but I am glad justice has now been served.

“I still have nightmares of the operation and suffer because of that, but I couldn’t have got through this without the help from Fletchers.

“It was never about the money, I just wanted justice to be served and for this to never happen again to anyone else.”

As a result of the surgery, Mr Evans was left with no feeling on the left hand side of his head, has trouble sleeping and persistent mood swings affecting his work and family life.

He suffered from severe distress, depression and anxiety and had to be referred to another consultant who carried out the surgery successfully in February 2013.