EWJ June 61 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 54
vent a deterioration of symptoms. The NHS must take
steps to ensure practitioners keep up to date with the
full range of diagnostics available to them to allow patients to be diagnosed at the earliest opportunity,
hopefully resulting in less invasive treatment being
required, and thus avoiding the subsequent risks
associated with undergoing a hysterectomy.
medical negligence may be possible. However, it is
worth noting that such claims can be challenging to
prove. More information can be found on the
Kingsley Napley Claims for a lack of informed
consent webpage.11
Legal claims
The Kingsley Napley team specialise in gynaecology
cases with a wealth of experience in this area. If,
following a hysterectomy you are concerned about any
of the issues raised in this article, please do not hesitate
to contact their supportive and friendly team for a no
obligation discussion.
As covered earlier in our article, delayed diagnosis and
repair of non-negligent complications that occur during hysterectomy procedures may give rise to a legal
claim. It is also possible for negligent delayed diagnosis of inter-operative injuries during other surgeries to
have the disastrous outcome of an emergency hysterectomy being carried out. In the reported settled
case of MD v University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS
Foundation Trust, the Claimant attended her 12-week
ultrasound scan which showed the foetus to have severe abnormalities to the skull and brain with hydrocephalus.7 She was therefore consented to have a
termination of pregnancy that afternoon. Multiple
negligent complications arose both in the lead up to
her surgery, and the surgery itself, including perforation of the Claimant’s uterus. She was given a laparotomy but after several attempts to stop the internal
bleeding, the Defendant made the decision to carry
out a hysterectomy. There were numerous allegations
of negligence made by the Claimant, one of which was
the Defendants delay in identifying the perforations.
Liability was admitted by the Defendant.
The rest of the Kingsley Napley Women’s Health Blog
Series can be found on their website https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/insights/blogs/med
ical-negligence-and-personal-injury-blog.
Author
Laura Vincent-Evans
Associate
(+44) 020 3535 1721
LVincentevans@kingsleynapley.co.uk
Laura is an Associate in the Medical Negligence &
Personal Injury team, having qualified as a Solicitor
in September 2022. Her medical negligence experience covers a wide range of cases including birth injuries, surgical errors and preventable suicide. She
also has experience in a variety of personal injury
claims involving amputation, degloving, traumatic
brain injury, and complex orthopaedic injury.
The Misdiagnosis or Mistreatment of Symptoms
Whilst some gynaecological conditions do warrant a
hysterectomy, this is not always the case. Patients may
therefore find themselves having been negligently advised to undergo a hysterectomy when in fact, there
were alternative, more suitable treatment options
which should have been considered in the first instance. If a woman undergoes a hysterectomy when
this was not necessary, there may be a legal claim.
References
1. NHS England, ‘NHS Hysterectomy Overview’ (NHS England,
11 October 2022), https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hysterectomy/.
Mr Jim English
Failures to Obtain Informed Consent
Increasing numbers of women have reported having
inadequate time to consider the hysterectomy procedure and its possible consequences.8 For example, in
April 2025 it was reported that the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales found that a patient, Ms A, had a
hysterectomy without giving her informed consent.9
According to Ms A, it was not until the morning of her
surgery that she was made aware that a hysterectomy
may be performed as part of her procedure, and this
was described by the ombudsman as being a ‘serious
failing’.
Consultant Gynaecologist &
Pelvic Surgeon
LRCP&SI MB BCh BAO MD MRCOG
Jim English joined Pyper Medical Services in 2022 and is
currently preparing reports on clinical negligence in
Gyneacology for both claimants and defendants.
G
Lead surgeon at Endometriose in Balans, Netherlands.
G
Specialist in general gynaecological laparoscopic surgery and
complex pelvic surgery for endometriosis.
G
Was the first in the United Kingdom to advocate radical surgery
in the management of severe endometriosis and was among the
The Government response to the Women and Equalities Committee’s first report states that moving forward, a risk assessment that allows a patient to make
an informed choice on the recommended procedure
should be undertaken as standard, taking account of
any previous history of undergoing related procedures.10 This should also include consideration of the
patient’s mental and physical preparedness for the
procedure.
first in the UK routinely to perform laparoscopic hysterectomies.
G
Served for a total of four years as a council member for the
British Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy and in 2013 organised
a joint meeting in Brighton between the British and Irish societies.
Currently sits on the board of the European Endometriosis League.
Contact Details:
Medico-legal secretary; Alayne Fawkes
Tel: 01903 741 154
Email: pms@pypermedical.co.uk
Website: www.pypermedical.co.uk
If consent was not properly obtained and the
hysterectomy treatment caused an injury, a claim for
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