Woman awarded £92,000 for botched surgery

A mother-of-two who almost died from injuries caused during a routine gallstone operation has been awarded more than £92,000 in damages from the surgeon involved.

Paula Thomas, 38, of Waters Edge, on the Chadderton-Middleton border, was operated on by consultant surgeon Paul Curley at Methley Park private hospital, near Castleford, Yorkshire, in 2005.

After sustaining damage to her bile duct during the operation, Mrs Thomas needed seven litres of bile drained from her body as she battled for her life, and has since suffered recurring stomach pain and flashbacks.

A judge at London’s High Court awarded her damages after finding that “otherwise highly competent surgeon” Mr Curley had negligently caused her injuries.

Mr Justice Griffith Williams told the court that Mrs Thomas, who worked as a logistics manager for a chemicals company before her operation, was diagnosed with a gallstone in 2005, and was admitted to Methley Park Hospital on her private health insurance.

In October that year she went under the knife of experienced surgeon, Mr Curley, who removed the gall stone, leaving Mrs Thomas to make what at-first appeared to be a healthy recovery. But a few days after the operation, Mrs Thomas awoke in tremendous pain, and was later re-admitted to Methley Park, where she was again cared for by Mr Curley.

She was later transferred to Intensive Care at Pinderfields Hospital, in Wakefield, where she suffered multiple organ failure and fell into what one expert called a “life-threatening condition”.

The court heard she was in and out of hospital until February, 2006.

Lawyers for Mrs Thomas claimed Mr Curley had damaged her bile duct during the first operation and should have provided better monitoring when she was later returned to his care. There was no claim against the hospital.

Mr Curley denied liability, maintaining the injuries could have been the result of other problems, but Mr Justice Griffith Williams found in Mrs Thomas’ favour on both points.

But he added: “There are risks in surgery no matter how careful the surgeon is, many such risks are recognised and that is why patients are asked to sign consent forms, but I observe that that is not to say that some risks are not avoidable.”

He added: “As the defendant was carrying out an uncomplicated procedure some distance removed from the site of the common bile duct injury, and no explanation has been provided as to how such an injury could have been occasioned other than due to a want of care on the defendant’s part, my conclusion is that the defendant negligently caused the injury.”

Awarding her £92,391 total damages, the judge said she can no longer cope with very heavy work around her home and garden and is in need of some care and assistance in her everyday life.

The judge found that Mrs Thomas had “no seriously continuing disability”, but that the injury had caused serious pain at the time and traumatic effects and scarring since.

“While she has less energy, she has coped with the demands of her employment and her social life is slowly improving”.