Mrs X was a 79-year-old woman who was diagnosed with a malignant colonic tumour (colon cancer) at the end of April 2021.
In June 2021 Mrs X underwent an open right hemicolectomy (an operation to remove one side of the colon) at the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, Kent, during which an injury was caused to the superior mesenteric vein (SMV), which required repair and an ileostomy.
During the operation, 5000 units of the blood thinning drug Heparin was given and the plan was to continue giving a Heparin infusion whilst in intensive care. However, no such infusion was ever given.
The abdomen was left open and Mrs X was transferred to intensive care.
Around an hour after Mrs X was transferred to intensive care, she suddenly deteriorated so she was taken back to theatre for a further operation, a ‘re-look’ laparotomy. This procedure found an acute ischaemic small bowel which was not compatible with survival. Mrs X was returned to intensive care and sadly passed away.
Shantala Carr, Partner at Girlings Personal Injury Claims Ltd, was instructed in relation to the inquest and to bring a claim in medical negligence against East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.
Following the inquest and investigating the case by obtaining independent expert evidence, it was alleged that the Trust had caused the death of Mrs X by 1) negligently causing the injury to the SMV and 2) not continuing to give a Heparin infusion.
The Trust admitted that the SMV injury was caused negligently and that this caused Mrs X’s death but argued that Mrs X had a metastatic tumour and therefore the surgery would only have been palliative in any event.
Following this admission, negotiations took place and the case settled for a substantial sum.
Following settlement, Mrs X’s daughter stated:
“We wouldn’t have achieved justice without you and all your hard work, without people like you and your team families do not get the justice they deserve. I would like to shout from the roof tops that if anyone feels that the trust is responsible for any negligence whatsoever, never give up fighting in obtaining the truth.”
Mrs Carr states:
“This is an incredibly sad case in which a much loved wife and mother died unexpectedly as a result of surgery, which should have prolonged Mrs X’s life. The family took Mrs X to hospital for surgery for her colon cancer, expecting her to come home afterwards and spend more years with her. Instead, a major vein was injured during surgery and she was not given sufficient anticoagulation (blood thinning medication) which led to a clot in the SMV, which in turn caused the ischaemic bowel and Mrs X’s untimely death.
For the family, bringing this claim was never about money but to get to the truth about what happened and for the Trust to apologise and be held accountable. We achieved this and I genuinely hope that the family can now close this awful chapter in their lives and I wish them the very best.”