Failure to suspect ectopic pregnancy

Our client had already had an ectopic pregnancy as a result of which she had lost one of her Fallopian tubes. She later attended a locum GP at her usual surgery, complaining of abdominal pain.

The GP diagnosed a urinary tract infection and reassured our client. She subsequently collapsed at home and was rushed as an emergency to hospital where an ectopic pregnancy was diagnosed. By then, her only remaining Fallopian tube had ruptured and had to be removed. She was therefore left infertile.

In view of our client’s history, our medical negligence solicitors obtained expert evidence that the locum GP should have referred her to hospital for a scan and, had he done so, the second ectopic pregnancy would have been diagnosed sufficiently early that our client would have avoided the loss of her remaining Fallopian tube as well as emergency surgery and her fertility would have been preserved. The case settled for damages of £40,000.

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