§ PUBLISHED JUDGMENT · 2015

O'Connor v The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

[2015] EWCA Civ 1244·Court of Appeal (Civil Division)·3 December 2015

During surgery to repair a bladder-vagina fistula caused by an earlier hysterectomy, the surgeon damaged the femoral nerve while dissecting the sigmoid colon. The trial judge awarded £459,758 and the Court of Appeal upheld the finding that the injury was caused by negligent direct injury rather than retractor pressure.

Outcome

Claimant succeeded

Sum stated in judgment

£459,758

Claim type

Urology & Catheter Injury

Decided

Appeal decision

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§ WHAT HAPPENED

The facts, in brief.

Defendant: The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (Royal Oldham Hospital)

Injury: Femoral nerve injury during repair of a vesicovaginal fistula: numbness, pain and loss of motor function in the left leg

Specialty: Urology · England

§ WHAT THE COURT SAID

In the judgment’s own words.

“The claimant claimed damages against the defendant NHS trust, alleging that the surgeon had directly injured the femoral nerve during the process of dissecting her sigmoid colon. The judge upheld that claim and awarded damages of £459,758.”
[2015] EWCA Civ 1244 at [89] · read the full judgment

The money

Trial judge awarded £459,758.09; trust's appeal dismissed

§ WHY IT MATTERS

What this case shows.

Where a nerve is damaged in an area the surgeon was working on, a court may infer negligence from the mechanism of injury and the expert evidence. Appeal courts rarely overturn a trial judge's factual findings on how an injury occurred.

About urology & catheter injury claims →

§ MORE UROLOGY & CATHETER INJURY JUDGMENTS

Claimant succeeded£195,888

Biggadike v El Farra & Anor

[2024] EWHC 1688 (KB)·2024·Liability and damages decided at trial

The patient had a hysterectomy, pelvic floor repair and incontinence tape fitted by one consultant, then mesh removal and a colposuspension by a second consultant. The court cleared the first surgeon but found the second performed the colposuspension without clinical justification, leaving the patient with severe bladder symptoms.

Performing an operation that is not clinically justified is a breach of duty even if it is technically done well. Damages are limited to the harm caused by the negligent procedure, not the patient's pre-existing symptoms.

Claim failed

Devonport v Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

[2016] EWHC 1729 (QB)·2016·Liability decided at trial

After a radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer the patient developed an abscess and a narrowed ureter, and later lost a kidney; she alleged the bowel was perforated at surgery and that urologists should have been involved in a second operation. The judge preferred the hospital's explanation for the infection and found no negligence in either operation.

Ureteric and kidney damage after pelvic surgery is not automatically negligent; the court will examine the most likely mechanism. Expert evidence on the cause of infection is often decisive.

All urology & catheter injury judgments →

Contains information licensed under the Open Justice - Licence v2.0. Judgments from Find Case Law, The National Archives. Summaries are ours; amounts only where printed in the judgment.

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