am I entitled to any compo

[82chelle]

Hi All,

This is not for the queasy lol.

I had my son 4 months ago. I tore during birth. The mw wasn't sure if it was 2nd or 3rd degree tear so called the surgeon to look and he told her to do it. This has resulted in me being stitched wrong. My doctor has referred me to gyno I have an appointment for Thursday.

Here are the problems this has caused.
It is impossible for me and my oh to have sex we have tried many times and it has put a strain on our relationship and made me very insecure.
I had an infection in my stitches a few days after and was put on antibiotics by my gp. About a week after the finished I started to notice a horrible smell coming from down there and thought it was another infection and was put on more antibiotics. I was doing all the right things to keep it clean but the smell was still there. In the end I got a squeezy bottle and blasted myself and the smell went but I had to blast everyday and still do when I'm having my monthly cycle. I had a feel and realised a pocket has been created. It is very uncomfortable still.

I can't help thinking if the mw wasn't sure of the degree and was worried about stitching me should it of been done by the surgeon who by the way said it was borderline of 2nd and 3rd degree.

Is it worth me trying to get compensation for the stress and discomfort it has caused?

Sorry for the horrible details it is very embarrassing.

xx

Complaints are taken very seriously by the NHS. I don't understand how you can say the midwife was brilliant when it was she who stitched you wrong??

Throughout the labour and birth she really was brilliant and did ask the surgeon if he should stitch me. I kind of feel it was a misjudgement of the surgeon and the mw only stitched me because she was told to. I got the impression she wasn't comfortable with the degree of the tear

75 percent of the patients admitted to my local A & E at the weekend are there for alcohol related injuries. A cash strapped NHS treats them for free.

As BoH has pointed out, compensation can make getting corrective surgery, and physio, and counselling, and anything else needed to compensate someone for mismanaged birth injury better. Just as someone whose DC was injured/oxygen deprived/wrongly treated at birth could use compensation money to address some of those issues. Or someone whose hip replacement is bungled, leaving them wheelchair bound and in pain.

Would we accuse those people of being money grabbing, or of thoughtlessly draining the NHS? I doubt it.

chelle where in the uk are you?
I can understnd why you think the mw was fab. The mw who potentially couldve been the cause of my problems was also wonderful throughout my labour and afterwards. Just because they fucked up doesnt make them awful.
However you say that 'she was only doing what the doctor told her to'. I am a nurse and her code of onduct will be the same as mine. She is responsible for her acts or omissions, if a octor tells me to do something i dont agree with or think is wrong then i dont do it. I speak to my senior nurse or senior consultant, or i get the doctor to do it themselves.

booboo totally inappropriate post, of course relationships can be affected by trauma, dont be so ignorant

Hey mosschops,

I'm in essex. I didn't know the mw didn't have to do it even though the surgeon said it was ok

I think you'd be massively wrong to seek compensation tbh. It sounds as if you have a bit of a shit relationship and are trying to blame the surgeon for all that has followed. Take some responsibility and look at the way you and your partner treat each other. And really, a 2 month old will not be unsettled by being in a different house.

Yeah OP take some responsibility for the fact that you can't have sex with your husband because someone else left you in pain and infected. yeah best suck it up. Or alternatively BooBooGlass can fuck the fuck off for being a massive fucking idiot.

If you aren't having any luck with your doctors I cna't see what other option you have besides suing, and using the money to pay for a proper surgeon to fix what was done wrong in the first place

If you decide to go private i habe a fab gynae here in cardiff who is highly regarded by every woman in this city hes ever seen .
even with ptsd he managed to get me back into an operating theatre and sorted all my problems out, if it wasnt or him i wouldnt be healed now physically and mentally

Ah mosschops I'm in London and so a bit too far away. Thank you so much though for the thought it is very kind of you. Im hoping I will find a good one nearer here. My partner has said he will pay for me to go private x

Bunbaker, the nhs has liability insurance to cover for exactly scenarios like this. I don't think "cash strapped" carries any more weight in the decision than arguing that a restaurant that poisoned its customers is running at a loss and can't afford to pay out.

I'm in London and am seeing Vikram Khullar (privately based at 81 Harley St, at St Mary's on the NHS) for my (very extensive) repairs. He is lovely - very approachable, and human and really seems to care. Haven't yet had the surgery, so can't comment just yet on his technique! Alfred Kutner and Arvind Vashisht, who are both at UCH, were recommended as extremely skilled in pelvic floor repairs and reconstructive surgery by an oncology gynae friend of DH's.

OP you should repost this in legal, as you will get a more informed response there. This more a legal than childbirth question

"Bunbaker, the nhs has liability insurance to cover for exactly scenarios like this"

Of course. I should have thought of that.

This happened to me..12 years ago.

I was badly stitched by a surgeon following the birth of ds1 in 1999. My birth had been quick and easy and i had only had the minute amount of gas and air. However afterwards, i was left in stirrups for over an hour maybe much longer as the mw wasn't happy to stich me and we had to wait for surgeon to come who was doing a section.

He was horrible, as i was crying as he was doing stitches i had no pain relief, so he stopped and they injected local anaesthetic which was extruciating! He complained about the fuss i was making all the way through. I was embarrased and in pain.

I suffered no infection from the stitches but never felt right 'down there' again after that. Walking and sitting was uncomfortable. Sex couldn't be contemplated and something like getting in/out of the car was extruciating. Was examined by gp a couple of months later who confirmed i had been stitched 'too tight' and referred to gynae. I had corrective surgery four months after the birth which was a transformation.

Anyone who tries to belittle the emotional and pyshological effect this may have on you as a woman and a wife has obviously not gone through this, its embarrassing as well as painful, so to want to seek redress I totally agree this is not unreasonable. For me however at that time I was young and just wanted to get back to normal asap.

I am sorry for what your are going through op and hope it is all sorted soon.

As far as I can find out, clinical negligence insurance for the NHS is handled by the NHS Litigation Authority - membership is not compulsory, but seemingly all NHS PCTs are currently members. The funds used to pay (and manage) clinical negligence claims are supplied by the insurance premiums paid to the NHSLA by the PCTs. So making a clinical negligence claim may not result in that particular PCT having to find the money but the NHS is still behind any costs incurred, although slightly less directly, as the NHS is to all intents and purposes its own insurer.

Personally, I really wish the UK differentiated negligence and compensation. When the two are so closely linked it makes it so hard to get anywhere as PCTs automatically become incredibly defensive.

82chell - I'm really sorry you're having such a tough time and hope you can get things resolved quickly and effectively, whether negligence was involved or not.

Thank you so much everyone for your support and advice. And also for the referrals.

The things us ladies go though for childbirth. We go through all of this for the most precious thing in the world, our children. Even with going through this I regret nothing about having my little one. When I'm feeling down just one look at him and I feel on top of the world

First of all I would ask myself, is there no way I can be re-stitched and have counselling without going through the horrendous upset of suing for compensation? When I was badly stitched, my GP wanted to refer me for re-stitching at that taxpayers' expense (I turned the offer down as dd was failing to thrive and I felt I needed to concentrate on her, but that is a different question). I would go and see your GP to find out what can be done for you for free.

Hi
Just a little note to those who think claiming compensation is bad idea. Perhaps they would like to put themselves in someone elses shoes and consider what life may be like. My daughter suffered a third degree tear which was not identified at the time of birth. She went on to become incontinent and had to have major surgery which included a temporary colostomy. She still suffers from urgency and has no control over flatus. She is a student teacher and was advised by her consultant to change career as the flatus problem would be difficult in a classroom situation. She is currently in legal talks with the NHS but we have no doubt that they will accept liability. Yes, it is very difficult to prove medical negligence, and the burden of proof is much greater than in personal injury cases. However, a doctor has a duty of care to his patients and if this is not given and the patient suffers further because of this, then I would say go ahead and make a claim. My daughters life has changed forever, she will never fulfil all of her dreams. In time she will require further surgery, the cost of this estimated by her solicitor is £70,000 this exludes any loss of earnings or pain and suffering. It isn't about the money, money can't put things right, but it can make life a little easier to cope with so many problems which lie ahead all because someone didn't do their job properly. Anyone can make a mistake and so to make the situation very fair, in medical negligence you also have to prove that if 100 doctors were placed in the same position, then more than 50% would have identified the problem, if you can't prove this then you have no case. Also, any third degree tear should be repaired in a theatre. So if this didn't happen and you go on to prove that it was in fact a third degree tear, then I would definately think that you have a case. Good luck and I hope that your problems are not as bad as they might look at the moment.