A woman, who suffered both physical and emotional injuries due to the negligence of a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, has been awarded €438,000 in compensation for a negligent hysterectomy following a court hearing.
Cynthia Kinsella (52) from Terenure, Dublin, underwent the surgical procedure at Mount Carmel Hospital in April 2008 after developing menorrhagia – a condition which causes heavy menstrual bleeding. Three weeks after her operation she started leaking from the bladder – a condition known as medically as a fistula – which lead to significant distress and loss of amenity.
The surgeon who oversaw the operation – consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr. Gerry Rafferty – also assisted at a second operation in July in an attempt to resolve the problem; where it was discovered that the condition may have been attributable to a misplaced suture in the bladder. After discovering that the probable cause of her injury was her surgeon´s negligence, Cynthia sought legal advice and subsequently made a claim for negligent hysterectomy compensation.
Dr Rafferty denied his liability for Cynthia´s injuries – claiming that her condition was due to a rare complication of the hysterectomy procedure – however, at Dublin´s High Court, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill rejected the surgeon´s argument and found in favour of Cynthia negligent hysterectomy claim for compensation.
In assessing how much Cynthia should receive in compensation for a negligent hysterectomy, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O´Neill heard that in November 2008 Cynthia had been made redundant from her senior secretarial position with an engineering firm. Due to a combination of her fistula condition and the severe anxiety disorder she developed as a result of her surgeon´s negligence, Cynthia was unable to find employment elsewhere and has not worked since.
The judge said that he was satisfied that Cynthia´s capacity for work had been affected by her condition and that there was little prospect of her finding employment in the future because of it. Awarding Cynthia €200,000 for past and future pain and suffering, €225,000 for past and future loss of earnings and €13,184 for medical negligence special damages, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill said that had Cynthia not suffered as a result of the hysterectomy operation, he believed she would have in all probability found alternative employment after her redundancy.