Suzanne White, a solicitor in Leigh Day’s leading clinical negligence department, has recently settled a claim for one of her clients who suffered an undiagnosed perforated bladder.  Our client underwent an operation known as a trans vaginal tape (TVT) operation to improve stress incontinence, or leakage from the bladder which can occur when sneezing, moving or coughing. During this operation the surgeon failed to adequately check the bladder for damage and did not notice that he had perforated our client’s bladder. Whilst not critical of the fact that the bladder had been perforated, our expert believed that the perforation should have been noted by the surgeon during the course of the procedure, and failure to spot this error was evidence of substandard care.

After the operation our client was in excruciating pain, particularly when her bladder was full. Despite her suffering symptoms indicative of a perforated bladder she was sent home. She continued to suffer symptoms and extreme pain for eight weeks before she eventually referred herself to a urologist.

Our client then underwent a procedure to investigate the cause of her symptoms and it was discovered that there was a perforation, that the TV tape had perforated and entered her bladder.

Our client had to endure further operations to repair her bladder, which meant that she had to take months off work to recuperate. She has also suffered a psychiatric injury as a result of the failure to diagnose the perforation of her bladder for such a long period of time. Our client still has problems as a result of the injury.

Eventually, the NHS recognised its liability to our client and conceded that there had been unacceptable failures in her care so that the case did not need to go to trial.

For more information please contact Suzanne White on 020 7650 1200.