£80,000 damages for unwanted hysterectomy at King George Hospital
Nina fell pregnant and was was given a due date of 21 September. Her pregnancy was uncomplicated and on 25 September, four days overdue, Nina referred herself to the King George Hospital in London. She was discharged home but attended again later in the day after feeling an increase in her contractions.
Nina was given an epidural and remained in labour until approximately midnight, by which time she was fully dilated but her baby's head was not advancing. Attempts were made to deliver the baby by Ventouse (suction) but these were unsuccessful. Nina was advised that a Caesarean Section was necessary.
Nina's bladder was cut during the Caesarean Section and she suffered massive blood loss. As a result of this injury Nina's uterus would not contract despite the administration of syntocinon (a drug used to stimulate the uterus and aid contractions). Nina gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
A Bakri balloon was inserted to try to manage the blood loss but there was a severe delay in obtaining blood from the blood bank with some bags being lost within the hospital. Nina continued to lose more and more blood, and within 90 minutes of giving birth had lost over 3 litres of blood.
Over the course of the next few hours Nina was not reviewed sufficiently and continued to lose further blood. Nina was eventually admitted to to ITU (intensive treatment unit), five hours after giving birth. She was very pale, agitated, very cold and with a heart rate of over 150 beats per minute but no pulse in her neck, arms and legs. She was still bleeding from her vagina.
Because of her continual bleeding, Nina was transferred to the operating theatre and a postpartum hysterectomy was performed. The operation took three hours. After the operation, Nina was transferred back to the ITU and she spent a further ten days in hospital before being discharged.
Nina had been unable to see her baby daughter for the first three days of her life, and was only able to see her for ten minutes per day whilst in ITU. For the first two months following her discharge, Nina was unable to care for her baby due to her injuries. She was practically unable to walk or lift.
Nina started to suffer vivid flashbacks to her time in hospital and her relationship with her partner was put under huge stress. They had previously planned on having at least two children but because of her hysterectomy she will not be able to have any more children.
Mark Bowman was instructed to pursue a case for gynaecology negligence against the hospital for the injuries that Nina suffered during the birth of her baby girl. Mark obtained expert evidence on the care that Nina received from a consultant anaesthetist and a consultant obstetrician. We also obtained reports of Nina's current condition, both mentally and physically, and the risk of future problems from a consultant psychiatrist and consultant obstetrician.
We notified the hospital of our intention to pursue a potential claim. The hospital agreed to enter into settlement negotiations. Following these negotiations, the hospital made an offer of £80,000 which Nina accepted.
Mark acted on a no win no fee basis and Nina will receive the full £80,000 awarded as the hospital have agreed to pay Nina's legal costs.
At the conclusion of the case Mark Bowman said:
"£80,000 represents a very good settlement based on the expert evidence obtained. This was a complex case and the expert evidence suggested that it was very much "touch and go" as to whether or not it would succeed.
"In spite of that, the defendants, relying on the contents of their own internal investigation report, wished to obtain a prompt settlement, and given that this was in all parties best interests, this was achieved."
After the claim was settled Nina said:
"We are both very grateful to Mark and very happy with the way that we were looked after and kept informed throughout the case. We can’t thank Mark enough"
Contact us
For further information about gynaecology surgery negligence claims and medical negligence claims, please call Mark Bowman on 03304606794 or email mark.bowman@fieldfisher.com.
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