Our medical negligence solicitors helped a woman claim compensation from an NHS Trust after a surgical mistake left her unable to have children naturally.
Chelsie Thomas, a clinical support worker, was expecting her second child in 2018. After experiencing bleeding, she went to Walsall Manor Hospital, the same hospital she worked at, to have tests done.
Two days later, doctors confirmed she had an ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy happens when the fertilised egg gets stuck in one of the fallopian tubes instead of the womb. If this happens, the egg won’t develop into a baby and the mother’s health could be at risk if the pregnancy continues.
Chelsie had an ultrasound where an early pregnancy assessment nurse confirmed the ectopic pregnancy was in her right fallopian tube. Chelsie had surgery later that day to remove the fallopian tube and stayed in hospital overnight.
The next day, Chelsie was in a lot of pain but her doctors said it was ok for her to go home. When she was leaving the hospital, the nurse that performed her ultrasound raised concerns over Chelsie’s paperwork. The paperwork said that her surgeon had removed her left fallopian tube instead of her right one.
Chelsie was immediately called back to the hospital for another ultrasound. This confirmed that Chelsie still had an ectopic pregnancy and doctors had removed the wrong fallopian tube. Chelsie had to have another surgery the next day to remove her right fallopian tube.
This meant that Chelsie had to have an extra, unnecessary, surgery but it also left her unable to have children naturally. This was devastating news for Chelsie and her partner who were both excited to have their second child.
Chelsie said “None of this seems real. I am heartbroken and just feel numb at what has happened and devastated at how I can no-longer have children naturally.”
How We Helped
In the months after her surgery, Chelsie left her job at Walsall Manor Hospital because she couldn’t face working with the people who’d made such a huge mistake with her surgery. Her relationship with her partner also broke down.
Chelsie contacted our medical negligence solicitors to see if we could help her claim compensation from Walsall Manor Hospital NHS Trust. She wanted answers to why a simple surgery had gone so wrong.
Jenna Harris, senior associate medical negligence solicitor, worked with Chelsie to investigate what happened leading up to her surgery.
Jenna and her team investigated the incident and at the same time the NHS put together a serious incident report to find out what went wrong. The report found that the surgical staff hadn’t examined Chelsie’s first ultrasound scans properly. This caused them to remove the wrong fallopian tube.
The report also found that other issues including:
- The operating team didn’t have Chelsie’s past medical notes before her first surgery
- Chelsie didn’t receive proper care while she stayed overnight – staff should’ve monitored her temperature and her pain
- Staff shouldn’t have sent Chelsie home after her surgery because of the amount of pain she was in
- A breakdown of communication and teamwork between the NHS staff leading up to Chelsie’s first surgery.
The NHS Trust classed Chelsie’s surgery as a ‘never event’. Never events are a list of problems that the NHS identifies should never happen to a patient.
The Settlement
The serious incident report clearly proved that Chelsie didn’t get the proper care and attention she should’ve had from her doctors.
The NHS Trust admitted that they were responsible very early. This meant that the claim wouldn’t have to go to court and Jenna Harris negotiated a £150,000 settlement for Chelsie.
Jenna said:
“While nothing can make up for what Chelsie has had to go through, we recognise that the Trust has admitted liability and made several recommendations in its incident report. We urge it to ensure these recommendations are implemented as soon as possible to improve patient care for others.”
Contact our surgery claim solicitors if you or a loved one has received negligent care. Call us on 0370 1500 100 or fill out our online form.
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