After surgeons mistakenly removed her stomach, one pensioner has gone on to make a medical negligence claim, being awarded with a significant sum in a personal injury compensation award.
The Rugeley, Staffordshire grandmother of four, 74 years of age, had been incorrectly diagnosed with stomach cancer seven years ago, undergoing a major surgical procedure to remove what was supposed to have been a life-threatening tumour, according to her medical negligence solicitors. However, hospital staff soon found that the procedure had not been necessary, as the mass in her stomach was benign, but her preliminary test results had been incorrectly interpreted by staff at Cannock Chase and Stafford General hospitals.
Now, as the legal battle rages on, members of the pensioner’s legal team have called for the NHS Trust for Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals to prove that lessons have been learned. The elderly woman, and her family, have been devastated by the experience, according to one of her legal representatives, as not only did she need to go through the trauma of being led to believe that the tumour in her stomach was a life-threatening one and face the frightening reality of a major surgical procedure, but then learn that she had her stomach removed for no reason whatsoever, simply because some test results were interpreted incorrectly.
The 74 year old grandmother, who wished for her identity to be kept from the press, was paid an undisclosed sum in order to provide care and support, yet her legal representatives say that she is particularly furious that the doctors providing her care didn’t inform her of the news, but was instead made aware of the terrible mistake by other staff members indirectly.