Mother-of-two wins five-figure settlement following hospital negligence

Release date: 10/11/2010

Mother-of-two Julie Watson, has won an undisclosed but sizeable five-figure settlement from United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

The 37-year-old was admitted to Lincoln County Hospital for a routine operation in December 2006. But the procedure went wrong and after being discharged she was left doubled up in pain.

Julie was taken back to the hospital by ambulance two days after being first discharged, as a result of the acute pain caused by infection. But she was sent home by an A&E doctor who simply blamed her discomfort on 'trapped wind' following the operation.

Nearly a fortnight later and still in chronic pain, Julie was sent back to the hospital by her GP. It emerged she had been left with a perforated uterus, which led to an abscess. She immediately had an emergency operation to remove it, which at this point had grown to approximately 300ml in size. It was followed by an emergency blood transfusion.

But four days later, the wound burst open while Julie was still recovering in hospital. She was finally allowed home a week later. Medics opted to leave the wound open to drain naturally, which took around four months to properly heal.

Julie was off work for five months instead of the one week originally predicted. Her operation should have simply been a day case with 30 minutes' keyhole surgery. As a result of the hospital's mistakes Julie had to have two major abdomen surgeries, both times slicing a pre-existing caesarean scar to open her up, and leaving her facing the prospect of a further invasive operation to correct a surgical hernia, which later developed as a result of the original botched surgery.

Her injuries have left her exhausted. She continues to be in acute pain, unable to sleep properly, unable to lift anything heavier than 5kg, or work full time.

The ordeal prompted Julie to contact personal injury specialist and Harvey Ingram associate Neil Clayton.

He said: "This was a particularly traumatic and unpleasant case for Julie, who simply went into hospital for a very routine operation. She is now unable to continue working for lengthy periods or lift anything weighing more than 5kgs, she has difficulty sleeping, gets very tired, continues to experience bouts of discomfort and faces the prospect of another operation and on-going treatment.

"The Trust admitted liability, accepted it was negligent and no defence was filed before the compensation was agreed. I am pleased to see progress has now been made on her behalf and Julie can start to put this ordeal behind her."

Julie said: "This should not have happened. I went in to hospital for a straightforward, routine operation and came out in acute pain and virtually disabled. No one should have to go through what I had to endure. I can't pick up my children and even basic chores and housework are exhausting."