Significant award for injury sustained during surgical removal of a catheter

In this medically complex case, our client was transferred to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington to remove a catheter which had become knotted and stuck in his left iliac vein during an ablation under general anaesthetic.

The surgery took place and due to damage caused to the vein, stents were inserted. Following this, our client developed a serious blood clot. An IVC filter was placed in his vein in order to prevent pieces of the blood clot reaching his lungs and heart.

Once the clot had been treated, routine removal of the filter was not possible because it had become stuck in the vein. Our client underwent several attempts to remove the IVC filter but eventually this had to be carried out by open surgery. 

Our client was deeply affected by the incident. He not only experienced a considerable amount of pain from all the procedures required but also suffered a significant psychological injury. 

The defendant admitted that it was negligent in some elements of the care provided to our client. It acknowledged that this negligence caused him to suffer a DVT and led him to need further treatment and surgery. After negotiations, a good settlement was achieved for our client.

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