When she was in the later stages of pregnancy, Molly became feverish and noticed a lump in her groin. She presented to her GP but he dismissed her concerns. Within days her condition was critical.
Molly had enjoyed an uncomplicated pregnancy until the 35th week when she suddenly became extremely ill. She was running a fever, was vomiting and had diarrhoea. She could not keep any fluids down and became severely dehydrated. She also noticed a small golf ball sized lump in the left side of her groin.
Becoming increasingly concerned about her unborn baby, Molly sought advice from her GP. He did not examine the lump or take her blood pressure. Instead he advised that these symptoms were commonplace in the late stages of pregnancy and prescribed anti-sickness tablets.
Within a couple of days the lump in her groin had swollen considerably and Molly was suffering an acute stabbing pain across her groin. She took a taxi to A&E where she was seen by a student nurse who decided that Molly’s waters had broken and admitted her to the labour ward.
Once admitted to the ward Molly was found to be acutely dehydrated, have dangerously high blood pressure and a large abscess in her groin. She was hooked up to a drip and given strong antibiotics. Concerns were then raised about her unborn baby whose heart rate had dropped. An emergency caesarean section was performed the same day and thankfully a healthy boy was delivered.
Over the following days Molly drifted in and out of consciousness. She was delirious and had not yet seen her son. The abscess was still being treated with antibiotics but this was not having any effect. Her condition quickly deteriorated and she was transferred firstly to the intensive care unit.
It was only at the stage, some two weeks after Molly first presented to her GP, that doctors realised the abscess in her groin was infected with necrotising fasciitis. As a severe flesh-eating disease this had been making her very unwell and should have been treated without delay. She underwent emergency surgery to remove the abscess and infected flesh surrounding it.
When Molly came round from the anaesthetic she was absolutely horrified at how much flesh had been cut away. The wound wept continuously and required a skin graft. She also needed physiotherapy because she could barely walk, such was the extent of her wound. She remained in hospital for another seven weeks, after which she was discharged and reunited with her newborn son and daughter.
Molly is distressed at the disfigurement caused by her illness and very upset that she missed out on the first few weeks of her son’s life, a crucial bonding time for all mothers. She also suffers regular bouts of cellulitis and will continue to do so in the future. She is heavily dependent upon the support of her family and must regularly ask them for help around the home.
She has had to endure terrible physical and emotional pain, all because her GP and the hospital failed to recognise that she had a serious infection. This awful suffering could have been easily avoided, had medical practitioners made a timely diagnosis, before the infection became so advanced. We helped Molly make a claim for the negligence she experienced and she was awarded in excess of £60,000 in compensation.
(Details which might identify our client have been changed.)
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