EWJ June 61 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 53
Women’s Health Series:
Hysterectomy Claims
A lack of awareness and understanding appears to exist when it comes to women’s reproductive
health conditions, and the diagnosis and treatment of hysterectomies is no exception to this.
In this article we discuss where negligence can occur in relation to the treatment of hysterectomies,
from initial misdiagnoses to surgical errors.
dysfunction, psychiatric injury, and loss of earnings as
a result of her injuries. In this case the Claimant also
made allegations against the Defendant that she was
inadequately consented regarding the option of a total
or sub-total hysterectomy. Liability was admitted by
the Defendant in relation to the inter-operative injury
sustained to her bladder, but they denied allegations
that the Claimant was inadequately consented. We discuss the wider issues surrounding informed consent
for hysterectomy procedures later in this article.
What is a Hysterectomy?
A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the
womb (uterus) and is carried out to treat health problems that affect the female reproductive system.1
Women will typically undergo a hysterectomy to treat
problems such as heavy periods, fibroids, or chronic
period pains. Roughly 55,000 hysterectomies are performed in the UK every year on women mainly in
their 40s and 50s.2
Barriers to Treatment
Women undergoing hysterectomies can face numerous issues when trying to access treatment. These may
include gender bias which leads to women’s reproductive pains being normalised or dismissed, NHS delays due to chronic underfunding, and the rising costs
of private procedures by 19% from 2021 to 2024.3 For
more information on this topic, please see Rebecca
Linnell’s recent blog on the Kingsley Napley website
discussing the current crisis in accessing gynaecology
care.
It is also important to note that negligent care can
arise not just from damage caused during a hysterectomy, but also extends to when non-negligent damage has not been identified and repaired when it
reasonably should have been. For example, damage
to the ureter is a known risk of a hysterectomy, but it
is usually recognised and repaired during the
surgery.5 A Claimant may therefore be successful in
bringing a legal claim following a hysterectomy, despite any damage caused being a known complication,
if it is found that the Defendant was negligent in not
identifying and repairing such damage during the
hysterectomy procedure.
Hysterectomy Negligence
If problems arise in the care associated with a
hysterectomy, there may be a legal claim for
negligence which should be investigated.
If damage caused during surgery is left untreated, it
can result in additional pain, complications and often
requires a further corrective surgery once the damage
has eventually been identified.
Below, are some examples of potential negligence involving hysterectomies that may give rise to a legal
claim for compensation.
Early recognition of damage is therefore key, as
operating staff can defer to the relevant disciplined
doctor, for example a Urologist, to deal with immediate repairs, thereby minimising any long-term problems. Where there is a failure to recognise and rectify
the damage, there may be grounds for a clinical
negligence claim.
Surgical Errors
During hysterectomy procedures it is possible for
surgical errors to occur. While some issues that may
arise are known risks of the surgery (for which the patient should have been appropriately consented for),
other complications may be as a result of negligent
care. For example, a patient’s bladder may become
damaged as the abdomen is being opened, particularly if prior procedures, such as a c-section, have left
a thin layer of scar tissue.
Delayed Diagnosis
The lack of awareness of women’s reproductive health
conditions can lead to a delay in the diagnosis of symptoms. This is a common reason for potential negligence claims, due to the fact that delays can lead to a
deterioration of symptoms. As a result, a report by the
Women and Equalities Committee has called on the
NHS to ‘urgently implement a training programme
to improve the experience’ of accessing treatment and
diagnosis for women with reproductive ill health.6
In a recently reported settled case, a Claimant
received compensation following injuries to her bladder which she negligently sustained during a hysterectomy procedure.4 This resulted in her
developing a fistula and experiencing incontinence.
Following two surgeries which failed to repair the fistula, she was discharged home with a catheter. Approximately five months later a final repair surgery
took place which was successful in resolving her
incontinence. Her case included claims for sexual
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Improving early diagnosis, such as through the
provision of follow up appointments, and second
opinions where warranted must be a priority to pre51
JUNE 2025
