But on occasions, we take on a case that is so blatant when it comes to negligence, and with consequences so horrifying, it puts your whole faith in medical professions to question.
From sources at The Independent, an inquest in to the death of a heavily pregnant woman has brought to light that trainee NHS surgeons removed her ovaries instead of her appendix by mistake. Tragically the woman died within weeks of the operation. The NHS only realised 2 days after her re-admittance to hospital that the wrong organ had been removed.
According to the inquest report, 32 year old Maria De Jesus died from severe sepsis which caused multiple organ failure as a result of appendicitis. Due to her pregnancy, the procedure was deemed to be complex and surgeons had to ‘feel’ to find the right organ to remove. Sadly, the wrong one was removed.
The hospital has since written a letter of apology to the late husband of the victim and appear to have admitted liability for the mistake. But in tragic circumstances when a person’s life is lost due to a terrible mistake, I would imagine that no apology or degree of admission of responsibility is of any comfort at all.
The reason why medical negligence cases are inherently difficult to win is that most procedures carry inherent risks that simply cannot be avoided. As such, many problems are not necessarily caused by negligence, but caused by factors beyond the control of anyone. But when a person faces a complex operation such as the one Mrs. De Jesus underwent, one has to question whether trainee surgeons were really qualified, experienced, or suitable enough to carry out such a difficult procedure. The question of whether a more experienced surgeon should have carried out the procedure, and whether it would have been carried out correctly, is the big question to ask.
Winning a case of medical negligence often comes down to the answer to such a question. If the answer clearly indicated there were failings, a claim can be made. But as I’ve already said, sometimes it’s just too little, too late.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/husband-of-dead-pregnant-woman-maria-de-jesus-describes-litany-of-errors-after-trainee-nhs-surgeons-removed-ovary-instead-of-appendix-8653002.html