A woman has settled her claim for DVT due to medical negligence, made against the hospital at which she underwent a hysterectomy procedure.
Forty-four year old Tina Grace from Kirkby in Nottinghamshire underwent the hysterectomy procedure at the Kings Mill Hospital on 13th August 2012. Tina was discharged on 18th August despite her parents raising concerns with the hospital authorities that she was not well enough to care for her two children aged 2 and 13 at the time.
Three weeks after her hysterectomy, Tina complained of feeling breathless and of a burning sensation in her leg. Her parents called an ambulance, which took Tina back to the Kings Mill Hospital. Tina was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and, worryingly, the blood clot in her leg had broken up and travelled up to her lungs – resulting in a pulmonary embolism.
Tina remained in hospital for eleven days receiving treatment for the pulmonary embolism. After she was discharged, she had to take Warfarin for a further six months. Tina sought advice from a solicitor about the treatment she had received and made a claim for DVT due to medical negligence – alleging that the hospital should have provided with surgical stockings and anti-clotting medication on 18th August discharge.
Liability for Tina´s injuries was acknowledged by Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in November 2012. The NHS Trust said that, on the balance of probabilities, Tina´s pulmonary embolism would likely have been avoided if surgical stockings and anti-clotting medication had been provided following her hysterectomy procedure.
After protracted discussions, an undisclosed settlement of the claim for DVT due to medical negligence was negotiated with the NHS Trust. Speaking after the settlement had been agreed, Tina told her local newspaper she was afraid that her children would be left motherless due to the hospital´s medical negligence. “I really felt like I could have died. I was terrified and it felt like every breath I took would be my last,” she said.