Client awarded £35,000 as a result of a delay in diagnosis

Ms B had undergone a total abdominal hysterectomy to treat endometrioid adenocarcinoma in October 2019. As a result, she developed a non-negligently caused vesicovaginal fistula. Shortly after the procedure, she presented to her surgeon for follow-up and reported symptoms of continuous urinary leakage; she was therefore referred to urology for assessment.

Ms B was seen by a urologist in December 2019, who considered that Ms B was simply suffering from urge incontinence and this was due to a weakness in her pelvic floor muscles. She was, therefore, treated as such with trials of medication and exercises. Ms B was never physically examined to determine a cause for her urinary leakage, and her symptoms were minimised and dismissed time and time again.

Ms B was eventually seen by a gynaecologist in January 2022, who diagnosed a vesicovaginal fistula, which required surgical repair. Ms B underwent the surgery in August 2022. Whilst she suffered a slow and extended recovery, the fistula has now healed, and her leakage has stopped.

The Claimant’s evidence was that any reasonable urologist reviewing Ms B from December 2019 with her symptoms of constant urinary leakage would have performed an examination and considered a diagnosis of a vesicovaginal fistula. The fistula, in this case, would always have required surgical repair. However, this could have been performed over two years sooner than it was in August 2022. Therefore, Ms B would not have suffered years of unnecessary and avoidable urinary leakage as well as the emotional impact of worry and embarrassment that was associated with this.

After a Letter of Claim was sent to the Defendant Trust with an offer to settle the matter, negotiations were entered into and settlement achieved within two weeks.

Ruth Houghton comments: “Whilst the injury itself was a complication of invasive surgery, the Claimant’s ongoing and troublesome symptom of urinary leakage was dismissed and overlooked by professionals on several occasions. There were at least three occasions when the fistula ought to have been diagnosed, and this would have resulted in the Claimant undergoing the repair sometime between January 2020 and August 2020, and not August 2022. The Claimant, understandably, had a very difficult time during those years, struggling with her symptoms, and this was completely preventable. I am pleased that we have managed to reach a settlement early on in this case so that the Claimant can now move forward with her life and put the last few years behind her.”

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