Medical treatment
Mrs B, a 37-year-old mother, attended her local hospital for a planned, routine operation to remove her gall bladder. The operation was performed by keyhole surgery.
The surgery was negligently mismanaged after the common bile duct was cut in error during the procedure rather than the cystic duct. The mistake was spotted immediately but given the severity of the error, the surgeon had to stop the keyhole procedure to perform open abdominal surgery to urgently repair the damage in an attempt to stop the bile leak.
As a result of these complications, Mrs B suffered ongoing abdominal pain and gastric symptoms including excessive wind, cramping, bloating and severe diarrhoea. These injuries had a significant effect on her life.
Support and specialist advice
Our team of specialist solicitors advised Mrs B on a potential claim for compensation. We obtained evidence from an expert consultant general surgeon. This expert confirmed that the surgery had been negligently mismanaged and was of the view that had the correct duct been cut to safely remove Mrs B’s gall bladder, all of her ongoing symptoms and discomfort would have been avoided.
Settlement
Initially the hospital trust was not willing to make any admission or negotiate a settlement.
However, after court proceedings were started, the trust formally admitted liability and sought to resolve the claim. Mrs B secured damages in excess of £250,000.
Our priority for Mrs B was to obtain an admission of liability and damages without issuing proceedings but given the trust was not willing to negotiate a settlement at an early stage, we proceeded to take this step to achieve a resolution to the claim. The damages obtained provided financial support to Mrs B and her family. Despite the extent of her injuries, Mrs B remained positive throughout and she was not going to let her injuries stop her from caring for her children and being the best mum she could be. Mrs B has since completed her studies and has trained as a midwife.
