Botched-op mum wants £200,000

A mother-of-two who almost died from complications following an operation to remove a gallstone is suing a private surgeon for £200,000 for alleged medical negligence.

Paula Thomas, 38, of Waters Edge, on the Middleton-Chadderton border, was treated at Bupa’s Spire Methley Park Hospital, near Castleford, West Yorkshire, in October, 2005.

She claims during the procedure, private consultant Paul Curley damaged her bile duct causing large amounts of fluid to leak into her body and leaving her battling for her life in intensive care.

Mr Curley denies any breach of duty — there is no claim against the hospital — but Mrs Thomas, who has since partially recovered from the problems and returned to work, says she faces a lifetime of poor health and is suing him for damages.

The High Court in London heard that Mrs Thomas, then Paula Knott, was married and living in West Yorkshire in August, 2005, when she started getting abdominal pains. She went to her GP and was diagnosed with possible gallstones. As Mrs Thomas, who has two teenage daughters, had medical insurance from her employer, she was referred to Methley Park Hospital for treatment, where she saw surgeon Mr Curley.

On October 10 that year, she underwent the fairly common procedure of keyhole surgery to remove a gallstone and was discharged from the private hospital the following day.

But Mrs Thomas’s QC, Rosalind Coe, today described how things took a turn for the worse after Mrs Thomas returned home.

Miss Coe said she was taken into St James’s Hospital, Leeds, where she had seven litres of bile drained from around her stomach and diaphragm, and needed to be put on life support during her recovery.

She stayed in hospital for nearly a month afterwards, but has since made a slow recovery and is now living near her mother and working as a logistics manager.

Her lawyer today told the court she still suffers from chest and stomach pain, has scarring from the operations, gets tired very easily and may need further operations in the future.

Miss Coe claimed her problems stemmed from damage allegedly caused by Mr Curley during the operation and he should pay £200,000 to compensate.

Lawyers for Mr Curley said he did not injure Mrs Thomas’s bile duct and the leak of fluid could have been caused by a mechanical failure in equipment used in the operation.

They said this was a “recognised complication” of the procedure, and Mrs Thomas’s brief period of recovery after the operation showed Mr Curley was not to blame.