A disabled woman who injured herself when an uneven pavement caused her to fall out of her wheelchair has claimed “incompetent” hospital staff have hampered an insurance payout.

Mum-of-four Debbie Stiff said Darent Valley Hospital failed to make complete notes on the injuries she suffered, and the £1,900 she had been offered as settlement did not take into account the pain she had endured for the past year.

After Kent County Council admitted liability, Mrs Stiff’s medical notes made by A&E staff were sent to Zurich Insurance.

They included details of cuts to her wrist and ankle and a knee injury.

However, the 45-year-old, who is paralysed down the left side of her body after having seven strokes, said medical staff failed to mention a two-inch “gash” she suffered to her stomach.

She believes this has cost her a greater settlement, and has now lodged a formal complaint with the hospital.

“The hospital has been incompetent,” said Mrs Stiff, who lives in Cherry Avenue, Swanley.

“The doctor never wrote that I had a two-inch cut or that they dressed it.

“Because they haven’t put the correct information, the insurance company has said there was no gash caused by the accident, have offered £1,900 and won’t pay anymore.

“The accident has had a terrific effect on my day-to-day life. I’m on strong painkillers, and if I stand up I’m in tears with pain where my knee is so painful.

“I cannot move my neck properly, and I’m still having ongoing treatment and physiotherapy.

"The accident has had a terrific effect on my day-to-day life. I’m on strong painkillers, and if I stand up I’m in tears with pain where my knee is so painful..." - Debbie Stiff

“I just don’t think the offer is enough to compensate. But I’ve got no one to fight my claim and haven’t the energy to do it myself.”

She was injured when her wheelchair became stuck in a sunken paving slab in Market Street, Dartford, in March 2014.

KentOnline reported at the time how Dartford Grammar schoolboy Sam Hubbard came to Mrs Stiff’s aid, and she later rewarded him for his good deed.

Mrs Stiff went to hospital by ambulance and was first assessed by a nurse and then a doctor.

She said it was not until she was seen for a third time that the cut was spotted.

"I was still in pain and felt I was bleeding from somewhere,” she added.

“I asked my husband to pull down my skirt, and that’s when we saw the cut. The doctor got a nurse to dress it and he told me to take if off after two days. But he has not noted it in my files.”

A spokesman for Zurich Insurance said three sets of “consistent” medical records had been provided by the hospital and all excluded a cut to the stomach.

She added that the settlement offered was one made “without prejudice” and would not affect any future claim Mrs Stiff may have as a result of any hospital investigation.

A Darent Valley Hospital spokesman said: "We have received a complaint from Mrs Stiff and we are looking into her claim.

"When she came in to the A&E department in March 2014, all of her injuries were treated and diagnostic investigations were undertaken as part of the clinical assessment.

"Detailed notes were taken and we will be writing to Mrs Stiff with our findings once we have concluded our investigations.”