M R Law has successfully recovered damages upon behalf of a woman who was discharged from hospital prematurely with a hole in her bladder following an operation.

The patient had gone into hospital for an operation to her bladder. That had apparently gone well and she was returned to the ward to remain in hospital overnight for further observations.

Before being discharged, the patient was asked to drink plenty of fluids and to ensure she was able to urinate. Despite then drinking water and tea, she was only able to pass a small amount of urine.

She brought it to the attention of the nurses who were unable to offer an explanation but they decided she was fit for discharge.

After returning home, the woman’s condition quickly deteriorated. She was in severe pain, vomiting repeatedly. The following day, she was rushed to hospital where after further tests it was determined she still had a hole in her bladder that needed repairing. Problems with her bladder then persisted for a number of months causing her further health issues.

It has been a very difficult period for our client but I am pleased we were able to resolve this claim to her satisfaction. ~Robert Barker

Robert Barker, head of the Medical Negligence team at M R Law who dealt with the case comments: “What happened to our client was entirely avoidable.

The hospital followed the standard procedure when informing our client that she would not be discharged following her operation until she was able to demonstrate that she was able to pass urine, yet when our client brought to their attention that she had only been able to pass a tiny volume of urine, they failed to investigate it.

Had they conducted any further investigations before discharging her, they would have detected much sooner that there was a hole in our client’s bladder and she needed further urgent treatment.

She would not then have suffered the long-term complications she went on to experience. It has been a very difficult period for our client and she continues to have ongoing health issues, but I am pleased we were able to resolve this claim to her satisfaction.”

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