A 25-year-old woman has been awarded a medical negligence settlement of £22,000 after a failed surgical termination resulted in a second termination three months later.

The client, who has requested to remain anonymous, attended Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on 1st December 2017 for a surgical termination of pregnancy at 6 weeks gestation under general anaesthetic.

The client received an injectable contraceptive during the procedure and was discharged home the same day with no follow-up care.

Two months later, the client attended her GP feeling unwell; she had already performed two pregnancy tests at home, which were positive. A third test performed at the GP surgery was also positive. She was referred to Marie Stopes for a termination of pregnancy.

On attendance to Marie Stopes, an ultrasound scan identified a 22-week fetus; she realised that this was the same pregnancy that she had attempted to terminate in December 2017. The client was found to be pyrexial, therefore, the procedure was postponed until 8th March 2018, which gave the pregnancy a gestation of 23 weeks.

A few days following the consultation, her membranes ruptured and the following day she suffered vaginal bleeding. On discovery of this, Marie Stopes declined to treat her, claiming that it was not safe to do so.

Basildon and Thurrock Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were contacted to see if they could treat her, but they refused. On 7th March 2018, she was transferred to Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for treatment.

Due to the advancing gestation, she underwent feticide before induction of labour was commenced. The client delivered an infant showing no signs of life.

Reflecting on Patient Claim Line’s legal representation, the client said: “I’m very happy with Patient Claim Line as a whole. My claim handler was extremely helpful and made me feel at ease. She broke everything down for me so that I understood everything completely and was extremely patient I cannot thank her enough”