It was only after a third attendance at an emergency department that the ectopic pregnancy was confirmed during which time she had been in increasing levels of pain.
£11,011 to a 28-year-old Woman (“c”) Following a Delay in Diagnosing Her Ectopic Pregnancy in June 2015
C underwent an exploratory operation in which it was found that because of the delay in diagnosis, the ectopic pregnancy had ruptured, and she was bleeding profusely. Therefore, a left salpingectomy (removal of her left fallopian tube) had to be performed.
Following surgery, C was advised that she might not be able to conceive naturally in the future. Luckily, her fertility was not affected. Although she was understandably anxious about whether she would be able to become pregnant, she did go on to conceive naturally and have a successful pregnancy prior to settlement of the case. If her fertility had been affected, then this case would have attracted a much higher award.
C brought an action against D alleging that it was negligent in failing to (i) ensure that she was provided with an appointment at the early pregnancy assessment unit within two to three days of her second presentation at hospital; (ii) perform surgery without delay. C alleged that if she had been offered an earlier appointment at the unit, laparoscopy surgery would have been performed earlier, without the need to convert to a laparotomy, and there would have been no need to remove the fallopian tube.
D accepted that if C had received an earlier appointment at the unit and been diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy, she would have avoided undergoing a laparotomy. However, D argued that, in any event, it would still have been necessary to remove C’s left fallopian tube.