A woman recovered £20,000 in compensation after she became pregnant following failed sterilisation.
The claimant, ‘C’, had opted for sterilisation in her mid-30s to reduce the risk of long-term hip damage due to pregnancy. However, she was left with hip pain and a limp that required months of treatment following the birth.
C was born with hip dysplasia, where the ball and socket hip joint hasn’t properly formed. She had surgery on this as a baby and went on to have three children without any issues. However, in 2008 she began experiencing pain in her left hip and underwent minimally invasive hip arthroscopy the following year. C’s pain persisted and she had surgery again in 2012.
She was advised by her surgeon that any further pregnancies would potentially cause lasting damage to her hips. She chose to undergo laparoscopic sterilisation which was performed in 2014 when C was 33 years old. With this procedure, both fallopian tubes are blocked by placing clips on them to prevent eggs being released into the womb. She was told during a post-operative check-up with her surgeon that the procedure was very straightforward.
A year after the surgery, C missed her period and went to her GP where a test confirmed she was pregnant, much to her surprise. Her GP thought the pregnancy was ectopic but a scan showed a normal pregnancy, healthy baby and strong heartbeat. C made the decision to go through with the pregnancy.
She managed well until she was around seven months pregnant in March 2016 when she started with severe hip pain. She had been booked in for an elective caesarean and asked for it to be brought forward but this was denied. She went into labour in April 2016 and delivered her baby via c-section. Sterilisation was carried out at the same time.
The surgeon who performed the c-section told C one of the clips used in the initial sterilisation wasn’t positioned correctly, so this was probably why she had fallen pregnant. She sought the help of Medical Solicitors to pursue a medical negligence claim on the grounds of wrongful birth.
She was supported throughout her claim by Matthew Brown who worked with experts in obstetrics, gynaecology and histopathology. They agreed with C’s allegations that the sterilisation procedure was conducted in a negligent manner. Expert opinion was that the clip had actually been applied to a ligament rather than the fallopian tube itself.
The Defendant Trust admitted they had failed to apply the clip to the fallopian tube and also didn’t perform checks to confirm the clip had been placed correctly. This resulted in a failure to sterilise C and, but for their negligence, she would not have conceived her fourth baby.
The Trust made an initial offer of £10,000 which, following Matthew’s negotiations, was then doubled to £20,000. This case was settled in September 2018.
