We have recovered compensation for a client in a successful TOT surgery claim. If you need help from our specialist No Win, No Fee solicitors then contact our free legal helpline by phone on 0333 888 0412 or email.
We were contacted by our client (who we will refer to simply as ‘Mrs X’) who wanted to know if she could bring a medical negligence TOT surgery claim having undergone a Trans Obturator Tape procedure that was aimed at improving symptoms of urinary incontinence.
Pelvic mesh surgery received a great deal of negative publicity throughout 2017 and 2018 with the NHS halting all NHS operations involving the use of vaginal mesh and tape products, including Trans Obturator Tape.
A review was carried out by Baroness Cumberledge who was “appalled at the seriousness and scale of the tragic stories” that her team had heard. Following the insertion of the mesh, many women suffered life changing injuries which meant some sought the advice of lawyers as they felt their symptoms were being ignored or dismissed.
Partner and head of the Clinical Negligence team at Slee Blackwell Solicitors, Oliver Thorne, recalls seeing an increase in the number of enquiries around this time, commenting, “Having dealt with mesh claims as far back as 2012 and seeing the devastating effect these products were having, it came as no surprise to me that the NHS halted these operations.”
Oliver’s expertise in this field led to him being invited to the speak at the Scottish Pelvic Floor Network’s annual conference on the increase in litigation surrounding mesh. Our team has subsequently gone on to represent many women and you can read another of our success stories here of a mesh claim in which our client was awarded compensation of £200,000.
Prior to the surgery Mrs X was suffering from incontinence. Following the TOT procedure, she saw no improvement in her symptoms and suffered a raft of further issues.
In January 2018, Mrs X read the press coverage and linked her symptoms to the TOT that she’d previously had inserted. She underwent removal of the mesh in August 2019, and it was discovered that the location of the mesh was incorrect, which was the most likely reason for the procedure being unsuccessful.
She asked Oliver to look into the matter on her behalf as she knew that he’d been instructed by five other women in the area to investigate very similar claims. Oliver, agreed to do so and took on the TOT surgery claim which was funded by way of a conditional fee agreement — no win, no fee.
We obtained expert medical evidence which supported the TOT surgery claim and after a lengthy period of negotiation an out of court settlement of Mrs X’s claim was reached.