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A Hull woman who suffered a life threatening rupture of an ectopic pregnancy after she was turned away by Hull Royal Infirmary’s Accident and Emergency Department with a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, received compensation totalling £25,000 from the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

In July 2005, a 24 year old woman became pregnant. The pregnancy was confirmed in August 2005 by her GP when the Claimant was 5 weeks pregnant.

On the morning of the 23rd August 2005, she awoke with abdominal pain. Although she had previously suffered with bowel symptoms this was nothing like what she had previously experienced. She was taken to the Hull Royal Infirmary Accident & Emergency Department. Following the examination, she was advised that she had IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). This was despite the attending doctor being aware that she was pregnant. The woman was allowed home with Paracetamol and advised to arrange her own date and scan.

She had to be readmitted the following morning when a tentative diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy was made and a laparoscopy was proposed. At the surgery, a ruptured right fallopian tube from an ectopic pregnancy was found. The procedure was transferred to a laparotomy and the right fallopian tube was removed. She had to be transfused 2 units of blood.

As a consequence of the events referred to, the Claimant suffered both physical and psychological consequences over a prolonged period of time.

We agreed to act under a “No Win, No Fee” Agreement from the outset, at no financial cost to the Claimant.

Following detailed investigations, including the obtaining of expert medical evidence, which was supportive of the claim, a detailed Letter of Claim was sent to the Hospital Trust. This resulted in a denial of liability. As a consequence, Court Proceedings were issued and ultimately the claim settled with our client receiving damages totalling £25,000.00 which included the payment to compensate her pain and suffering which she endured plus a sum to cover the care that she required over a period of some 8 weeks following her discharge from hospital.

Ectopic Pregnancies

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fertilised egg falls outside the uterus, commonly in one or other of the fallopian tubes. The embryo cannot grow beyond a certain size in the tube. As a consequence, the tubal pregnancy may finish in a number of ways. The most dramatic way in which it finishes is by tubal rupture. This is a life-threatening event for the woman and, in the 1997 – 1999 period there were 13 maternal deaths resulting from ectopic pregnancy in the UK. Common symptoms include abdominal pain (usually of a colicky nature at first) and vaginal bleeding, although the latter is not always present. Any woman, known to be pregnant, who presents to a doctor with abdominal pain and/or vaginal bleeding, should be investigated to exclude ectopic pregnancy. When identified early and before rupture occurs, appropriate intervention can be performed which would avoid the loss of the fallopian tube.

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