Compensation for Surgical Errors during a Colostomy

A ‘technical’ error during colostomy surgery led to the incorrect end of a bowel being stapled and resulted in extreme pain, discomfort and further correcting procedures for our client.

Surgical Error Case

In this case, liability was admitted at an early stage and our medical negligence solicitors were able to secure a £25,000 compensation settlement against the Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.

Our client was 22 at the time of the surgical error and has since been unable to return to her work as a shop assistant.  She has a complex medical gastrointestinal history having previously had an ileostomy.  She had hoped reversing the ileostomy and creating a colostomy would give her a greater quality of life.

Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to the Claimant at the time, there was a ‘technical error’ during surgery which resulted in the incorrect end of the bowel being brought out and as the colostomy was formed the wrong end of the bowel was stapled and sutured closed.

Following her surgery, she began experiencing increasing levels of pain, nausea and vomiting.  The problem was not immediately picked up and she was in increasing pain and discomfort which then prompted a clinical review. Further x-rays and CT imaging noted a bowel obstruction and she was taken back to the theatre and the error was rectified.

She remained in hospital for a further 18 days and was consequently referred to the care of district nurses.

Surgical Error Compensation

The award of £25,000.00 was in respect of the pain, suffering and lost amenity for the week when her substandard surgery went unnoticed and she then had to have further surgery to correct the original surgery. This would have been avoided in its entirety but for the negligence and she has continued to be anxious and suffer from PTSD-Esque symptoms following her discharge from hospital.

“It was accepted by Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust that the twist in the colon was not identified at the time of surgery, which amounts to a breach of duty.  Added to that there was a failure consistently to monitor and record stoma output, a failure to notice her symptoms and to diagnose bowel obstruction as well as further surgery which would have been unnecessary had medical errors not been made,” said Trainee Medical Negligence Solicitor, Daniel Phelps.

Surgical Error Claims

In this case the client was referred to us jointly by the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and the recommendation of a family member. After a free initial consultation with our experienced medical negligence team, we were able to proceed with the claim through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), this is when clients only pay for legal work on the condition that the case is won and compensation awarded.

How can we help

Every day our team gets calls from people for advice when their medical procedures have gone wrong, or when the care from a doctor or other medical professional has been substandard.  It is never easy making a claim against the NHS but sometimes compensation is needed for the care you may require and that is when our team of medical negligence solicitors are here to help.

Call 0161 785 3500 or enquiries@pearsonlegal.co.uk to chat in confidence and with no obligations about your potential case.

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Please note that the information and opinions contained in this article are not intended to be comprehensive, nor to provide legal advice. No responsibility for its accuracy or correctness is assumed by Pearson Solicitors and Financial Advisers Ltd or any of its members or employees. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking, or refraining from taking, any action as a result of this article.

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