Compensation Payout For Mother Left With Surgical Packing Inside Her Body

A new mother claims she was robbed of the chance to properly bond with her newborn baby after a hospital error left her in agonising pain.

Elise Cattle, 27, could not walk properly and suffered months of pain, bleeding and infections following the birth of her son, Freddie, at Hull Women and Children's Hospital. After five months of complaining to her GP, she was examined by a doctor who found that "packing" used to stem bleeding after the birth had accidentally been left inside her body.

The mistake is classed as a "never event" by NHS England – serious incidents that the NHS admits are "wholly preventable" if medical staff follow procedures and systems in place.

If you have experienced negligence through the actions, misdiagnosis or inappropriate care by your surgeon (other medical professional), you could be entitled to make compensation payout. For advice on making a compensation claim please contact our experienced surgery negligence solicitors today. Please call in confidence on 01895 207835. Alternatively, email us at PI@ibblaw.co.uk or complete our online form.

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Ms Cattle said she still lacks as close a bond with her son as she would like, and feels "jealous" when she sees new mums holding their babies.

She said: "I couldn't sit down for days afterwards, and had to use a rubber ring to sit on.”

"When I got home from hospital, the pain just got worse and worse. I was laid on the sofa while my mum and dad did everything. It really affected my bond with Freddie. I felt like I'd failed him.”

"I still feel like that. I had been really looking forward to becoming a mum. But now when I see a mum with a newborn baby, I feel jealous, because I couldn't cuddle Freddie like that.”

"I couldn't bath Freddie, and had to change his nappies with him lying across my lap. I just couldn't stand the pain."

Pain disappeared as soon as packing removed

She said the pain disappeared as soon as the doctor removed the packing.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust admitted breach of duty, agreeing on a settlement of £7,500 to compensate Ms Cattle for her pain and suffering.

Mike Wright, chief nurse for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said:

"An investigation was carried out in connection with Ms Cattle's claim."

"Never events are rare, but when mistakes do happen, we are committed to being open and honest about them."

"While each set of circumstances is different, we are committed to learning from our mistakes to make services safer and improve care."

What are never events

Never Events are serious incidents that are wholly preventable as guidance or safety recommendations that provide strong systemic protective barriers are available at a national level and should have been implemented by all healthcare providers.

Each Never Event type has the potential to cause serious patient harm or death. However, serious harm or death is not required to have happened as a result of a specific incident occurrence for that incident to be categorised as a Never Event.

Never Events include incidents such as:

• wrong site surgery
• retained instrument post operation
• wrong route administration of chemotherapy

Revised Never Events Policy and Framework

A revised Never Events Policy and Framework was published on 27 March 2015, this includes changes to the definition of what a Never Event is and adjustments to the types of incident that are included on the Never Events list, reducing the list from 25 to 14 incident types.

• Revised Never Events Policy and Framework
• Never Events List 2015/16
• The Never Events List 2015/16 – Frequently Asked Questions

Surgical Never Events task force

NHS England commissioned a Surgical Never Events task force to examine and clarify the reasons for the persistence of these patient safety incidents, and to produce a report making recommendations on how their occurrence can be minimised. This report was published in February 2014, and NHS England has begun work on how the recommendations can be implemented.

Read more about the task force and view the report.

Compensation for victims of a surgeon's negligence

Our goal at IBB Solicitors is to obtain justice for victims of the negligence by others, by securing compensation that reflects their pain and suffering, as well as related financial losses including loss of earnings, treatment costs and specialist care costs.

If you believe that you have suffered harm as a result of a delayed or misdiagnosis, or from negligence resulting from the actions of your GP, consultant, surgeon, nurse, dentist or other health care provider contact our medical negligence solicitors today. We offer a No-Win No-Fee Agreement so there is no financial risk involved if you are not successful. To discuss your case or to make an appointment please contact us on 01895 207835 or 01895 207295. Alternatively, please email us at PI@ibblaw.co.uk or complete our online form.

CONTACT OUR NO-WIN NO-FEE NEGLIGENCE SOLICITORS FOR A FREE QUOTE