Personal Injury Solicitors

A 36-year-old mother-of-two will spend the rest of her life in pain because doctors wrongly inserted a piece of metal into her spine during surgery, causing permanent nerve damage.

Caroline Bielby from Beverley in East Yorkshire underwent surgery at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, East Yorkshire – and told doctors after the operation that she was in pain.

However, it was not until nearly two years after the surgery that a piece of metal was discovered in her spine.

Mrs Bielby first underwent surgery to improve a spinal condition in April 2010, the Mail online reports. It was only 18 months after the surgery that a misplaced metal screw was found lodged in a major nerve in her spine.

She told the Mail that over time her symptoms grew “progressively worse”. Mrs Bielby suffered pins and needles and weakness – and she was left with permanent nerve damage, which affected her leg and foot.

Surgeons removed the screw in March 2012, but found that the nerve damage caused was irreversible.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospital NHS Trust said that an MRI scan and X-ray had been “wrongly interpreted” – and there had been a failure to arrange further tests for Mrs Bielby. The trust has accepted that, had the cause of Mrs Bielby’s symptoms been diagnosed sooner, damage to the nerve would not have progressed to the extent she has been left with permanent injury.

The trust has agreed to pay Mrs Bielby an undisclosed five-figure sum in compensation for her injuries.

The settlement covers loss of earnings, as Mrs Bielby was unable to return to work as a secretary after the original surgery and is unlikely to be able to do so.

Mrs Bielby said:

“The last few years have been a complete nightmare and I am still in pain which will never go away due to the damage to my nerves.

“I don’t feel like the same person as I was before the operation, but I do try to remain positive each day.

“It is very difficult, especially struggling with the little things in life that we all take for granted – such as taking my youngest to and from school, or not being able to do the housework like I used to be able to do.

“I haven’t been able to work since the surgery and I would love to do so, but unfortunately due to my condition I am very limited as to what work I can do.”

Mrs Bielby will use some of her compensation for further rehabilitation therapy.

“'I'd like to work, but I would need a desk job with limited hours as I can't stand for long,” she said.

“I’m trying to remain positive – and will do what I can to make it happen. I want to rebuild my life as much as possible,” she added.

“I feel I was let down by the NHS, as I felt I was passed from pillar-to-post for two years, while I was experiencing the most excruciating pain of my life.

“I hope that lessons have been learned by the trust to prevent this happening to anyone else.”


Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors – Medical Negligence Claims

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of personal injury solicitors and can advise on how to make a no win no claim fee for medical negligence, including injuries as a result of surgical errors, prescription errors and poor care.

Personal injury claimants usually have three years from the date of injury in which to make a no win no fee claim.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee personal injury claims – including Medical Negligence Claims – contact Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.