Over £100,000 compensation awarded for bladder injury during inadequate appendix surgery

We have settled a claim for a young woman whose bladder was negligently injured during appendix removal surgery resulting in a bladder injury and long-term urinary urgency and urinary incontinence.

Our client underwent a laparoscopic appendectomy – the removal of the appendix via keyhole surgery – but almost immediately after the surgery she experienced significant abdominal pain and urinary retention.

She was taken back to theatre where it was discovered that her bladder had been punctured by a suprapubic port used during the appendix surgery. Her bladder was repaired successfully but, due to the leakage of urine, our client developed chemical peritonitis and required a surgical drain.

Although the drain was removed before she was discharged home, she continued to require a catheter for a further two weeks. Once the catheter was removed she began to suffer from urinary urgency and urinary incontinence. As our client was only 13 years old at the time of the surgery, her injury had a significant impact on her life, especially her education and social life.

We obtained supportive expert evidence from a general surgeon who explained that the procedure was conducted by the Hassan technique. This means that two ports placed in the suprapubic positions are inserted under direct supervision of a camera inserted in the belly button at the start of the procedure.

As the ports are placed under direct vision, injury to the bladder should not occur and the only explanation was that one of the suprapubic ports had been placed too low and had injured the dome of the bladder. The surgical expert confirmed that the bladder injury was the cause of her urinary urgency and incontinence issues.

While investigating this it was unclear whether or not our client’s urinary symptoms would resolve or remain long term, so we sent the hospital trust a pre-action letter of claim setting out our allegations. As our client had been affected mentally as well as physically, we obtained a report from a paediatric-psychiatrist who diagnosed our client with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and recommended a course of cognitive behavioural therapy.

We received a full admission of liability fairly promptly from the hospital trust together with a letter of apology. Court proceedings did not have to be issued and the hospital trust agreed to an interim payment. This is a partial payment of compensation made before final settlement and is designed to help cover immediate expenses such as treatment costs.

Our client was able to use some of the interim funds to have some investigations in the private sector and it was hoped she could start a treatment program to help improve her symptoms. Unfortunately, it was difficult to establish whether her urinary symptoms were due to sensory or motor instability and, in addition to this, our client was understandably fearful of seeing medical professionals and having further treatment.

When it became clear that our client’s urinary symptoms would most likely remain long term the claim was valued and settlement negotiations commenced. The claim settled for over £100,000 which will enable our client to manage her symptoms with private treatment and hopefully move on with her life.

Our client gave the following testimonial: “Emily has worked with me over the years and I couldn’t recommend her enough. She’s been so kind and patient, especially when I haven’t been the easiest of clients. I’ve had an operation gone wrong leaving me with life-long difficulties that’s changed my life in the worst way and she’s helped me so much. I’m eternlly grateful for everything she has done for me.”

Emily Hartland comments: “Despite the early admission of liability, it took us some time to value this claim. While this can sometimes be frustrating for clients, it is really important to fully understand the client’s injuries, how long they are likely to last and what treatment they will require in the future. This understanding ensures that the client is appropriately compensated for their injury and that the expenses they have incurred in the past as a result of their injury and any expenses they will need in the future will be covered.

“Sadly, we cannot turn back the clock and prevent the injury, but we can do our best to obtain compensation which aims to put the injured person back in the position they would have been had their injury not occurred.”