After a botched gall stone operation nearly cost her life, one mother of two who brought a medical negligence claim against hospital staff has been given a £92,000 personal injury compensation award.
According to accident claim specialists reporting for the Manchester Evening News newspaper, Middleton native Paula Thomas, aged thirty eight, had been admitted to Yorkshire’s Methley Park private Hospital for a surgical procedure to remove a gall stone. While Mrs Thomas seemed to be making a good recovery in the wake of the routine operation, she was re-admitted to hospital for extreme pain a few days after surgery.
Once the woman’s condition became life threatening due to multiple organ failures, she was then transferred to Wakefield’s Pinderfields Hospital, the High Court in London heard. Mrs Thomas’ bile duct had suffered damage during her initial surgical procedure, the court also heard, which resulted in not only her life threatening condition but necessitated her body being drained of a total of seven litres of bile.
Mrs Thomas brought a medical negligence claim against Paul Curley, the surgeon who performed her initial operation. The surgeon initially denied any liability in the matter, claiming that her injury could have been caused by any number of other problems.
High Court judges were not convinced by Curley’s argument, however. In the wake of the hearing the injured mother of two was given a £92,000 damages award, with the court ruling that her injuries were indeed the result of negligent behaviour on the part of the surgeon.
Curley and his legal team declined to take an opportunity to comment to the media after the hearing when asked if they would consider appealing the High Court’s decision.