Anaesthetic failure leads to medical negligence claim

In July 2003 we received a phone call from a 32-year-old West Midlands woman who wanted to find out more about making a medical negligence claim after she received serious personal injuries during an operation.

She had been experiencing pain in her lower stomach/womb area for a number of months and her GP was unsure of what was wrong with her but suspected that it might be endometriosis, a condition in which tissue can grow on different organs outside of the uterus. So he referred her to have a laparoscopy, a keyhole surgery procedure, during April of that year at her local hospital.

The woman had a pre-op appointment at the hospital where a member of the surgical team talked her through the procedure. She was told that she would be placed under a general anaesthetic then have a carbon dioxide gas pumped into her abdomen. This lifts the wall of the abdomen away from her internal organs and makes the examination easier.

She was informed that the operation would then involve having a small incision made in her belly button so that a tiny camera could be placed inside of her, enabling the surgeon to a look around and try to identify what was causing her pain. She was assured that she wouldn't feel anything but when she awoke she would feel delicate and may experience discomfort to her abdomen for a week or so.

It came to the day of the operation and the woman had not eaten or drunk anything since the previous evening as this was a condition of the operation. She was taken into the operating theatre and asked to count back from ten while the anaesthetic took effect.

However, she awoke around 15 minutes into the operation and could not move her limbs or speak to let anyone know that she was awake. She just had to lay there as the operation continued; she could feel the camera moving around inside her and felt sick with agony.

When the operation was over and the remaining effects of the anaesthetic had worn off she told a nurse about the traumatic experience. The nurse called for the consultant right away who explained that this kind of event was extremely rare and that he could not understand what had gone wrong.

The woman was clearly very distressed by the whole ordeal and had experienced a great deal of pain. Rather than sending her home the following day, as is usually the case with patients who undergo laparoscopies, the consultant decided to keep her in for observation. However, the woman requested to go home without delay as she felt terrified every time a member of medical staff came near her.

When the woman returned home she was still experiencing a lot of discomfort and was having vivid nightmares about the procedure that went wrong. A friend advised that she should seek counselling and also suggested that she make a medical negligence claim against the hospital for the terrible ordeal and passed on our details.

After she had explained what had happened and that she has been left suffering from depression and has developed a fear of hospitals as a result of this medical negligence, we told her how we could help her to make a compensation claim for money that was rightfully hers on a no win, no fee basis.

When she asked whether there were any hidden costs we explained that everything about the YouClaim medical negligence compensation claim service is completely up front, that we are associated with some of the finest personal injury solicitors in the UK and that she would not be responsible for paying a penny towards costs and fees, regardless of her case's outcome.

Pleased that she would not have to fork out any money in order to pursue her injury claim she went ahead with the case against the hospital. Understanding how daunting it can be taking on such a big organisation, her personal injury solicitor talked her through each stage of the claims process in plain English.

After an investigation it was found that a fault had been made when administering the anaesthetic because it had not been checked properly. Read more about incorrectly administered medicine and medical negligence.

The hospital had little choice but to admit full liability for pain and distress that the woman had already suffered and was continuing to suffer. They initially made her an offer of 17,400 which she refused as it did not cover her ongoing symptoms; they then made her an offer of 28,900 which she accepted.

How we can help you to make a medical negligence claim 
Have you or a member of you family been a victim of medical negligence? Would you like to make a personal injury compensation claim with our help?

Our panel of Law Society approved personal injury solicitors are experts with a variety of accident and injury claim cases and have a fantastic success rate.

If you require free legal advice then you can chat to a member of our claims team online right now or if you would like us to call you back right away fill out an urgent call back request form. Alternatively start the process of your medical negligence claim rolling today by calling 0800 10 757 95.