Mum secures £95,000 settlement after unnecessary gynaecological surgery leads to sepsis
A YOUNG mother who had to give up her beauty therapy career after suffering severe sepsis and serious health complications following gynaecology surgery that she did not need has been awarded a £95,000 settlement.
The mum of two had experienced symptoms for several months before undergoing a scheduled operation at a private hospital back in 2016.
But what should have been routine surgery turned into a personal nightmare when she was rushed into the High Dependency Unit at a local NHS hospital with sepsis, a potentially life-threatening condition.
She eventually suffered from the loss of hair, fingernails and toenails and had to spend 10 days recuperating from the ordeal in hospital. Aged just 35 at the time of the traumatic incident, she also suffered from PTSD and could no longer continue with her career as a beauty therapist tutor due to the loss of manual dexterity in her fingers.
Although she recovered enough to go home 13 days after the original operation, the problems did not stop there for the mum, who had two young children at that time. She continued to suffer from severe physical and psychological symptoms on her return home from hospital to the extent that she could no longer carry out her work as a beauty therapist.
Having reflected on her treatment, the young mum contacted our Clinical Negligence team to discuss her concerns in a bid to prevent anyone else suffering a similar scenario in the future.
After a thorough investigation of her medical records and taking advice from medical experts, it became apparent that the issues arose because all of the alternative treatment options were not discussed during the initial consultations before the procedure. If they had been, she would never have undergone surgery and would have instead opted a non-surgical solution, therefore avoiding any possibility of Sepsis developing and all of the associated problems thereafter.
Having fought the case on behalf of our client for a number of years, Solicitor Alison Ainsley was pleased to finally reach a financial settlement for damages at a mediation in August 2023.
Reflecting on the case, Ms Ainsley said: “This young mum underwent surgery as a result of consultations with a specialist but she was not properly informed of all the options that might have been available, some of which were non-surgical. Had she been given all of this information beforehand; it is likely she would never have undergone surgery and would not have suffered as she did.
“The fact that the surgeon denied all liability up to the day of mediation itself meant that this case dragged on for years, forcing us to issue legal proceedings.
“Delaying at every step only prolonged the agony for our client and we were pleased to be able to draw a line under this sorry situation so that she could finally put it behind her.
“The immediate health complications she suffered is further exacerbated by the fact she did not even need to undergo the operation in the first place.
“I was pleased to be able to support her and secure a settlement which reflected the unnecessary pain and suffering she endured, but this obviously does nothing to soften the blow of losing her career and the stress she experienced.”
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