Health bosses in six-figure payout over Bedworth mum’s death

[dutchman]

The family of a Bedworth woman who died during an operation to remove a huge tumour which wasn’t diagnosed for 7 months have accepted a six-figure payout from health bosses.



34-year old Terri Bailey – who had three young children – went to the Bedworth Health Centre on several occasions in 2005, complaining of tiredness, breathlessness and pain under her left breast.

Lawyers say two GP’s failed to offer her a chest X-ray.

On her third visit they claim a different doctor sent her for an urgent X-ray which showed she had a large tumour in her chest which was possiblycancerous. He referred her to Coventry’s University Hospital for surgery.

They discovered the tumour was the size of a football, taking up most of her chest, and weighed 1.6 kilograms.

In November 2005 Terri had surgery and on the table developed a severely abnormal heart rhythm and despite an hour of resuscitation she died.

Lindsay Gibb, a medical negligence expert at Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, said:
“This tragic case has sadly left three children without their mother and raises a number of extremely serious concerns regarding the level of care Terri received from both her GPs and the hospital.

“The symptoms which Terri was suffering from should, in the view of our medical experts, have rung alarm bells much earlier and prompted a chest x-ray which would have been easy to arrange and would have led to a much earlier diagnosis.

“Instead it would appear two GPs ignored signs that something was seriously wrong, which delayed her being referred to hospital.

“By the time a CT scan finally revealed the true extent of her illness, the tumour was very large making the operation more difficult. Terri did not know at the time of surgery that her tumour was malignant, which would in all likelihood have limited her life expectancy.

“However, our medical experts strongly believe that Terri’s heart problems during surgery were caused by significant blood loss which occurred as the tumour, which had a number of blood vessels feeding it, was removed piece by piece.

“Our experts were of the firm opinion that if the blood supply to the tumour had been appreciated by those caring for Terri and proper pre-operative planning had been carried out, this could have been avoided and Terri would not have died on the operating table.”

Speaking on behalf of the family, Terri’s mother, Janine Dennis, (58) also from Bedworth, said: “When Terri died we were shocked and devastated, particularly as the surgeon had told her that the risk of dying during surgery was only 2%.

“We just wanted answers about how and why she died but the more we learned from the medical experts instructed by our Solicitor, the more angry we became that steps were not taken by those supposedly caring for her, that could potentially have saved her life.

“It has been a long legal battle in our fight for justice for Terri which has been made particularly difficult due to the fact an out of court settlement was only offered just weeks before a trial and that despite this pay-out no-one has been held accountable or apologised for Terri’s death”

“We have all been devastated by what has happened, especially Terri’s children, Zac (15), Leah (18) and Connor (20), who have had to grow up without their mum.

“We understand that Terri had a malignant tumour, but she should not have died during surgery. She was taken from us so suddenly under circumstances which should have been avoided. I just hope that lessons have been learnt, as no other family should have to go through the pain and devastation that we have.”

Andy Hardy, Chief Executive of Coventry University Hospital said: “The type of surgery to remove such an advanced tumour is very complicated and careful assessment by a multi-disciplinary team was made before the decision for surgery was taken. The surgery carries significant risks and tragically she died. We offer our sincere sympathies and condolences to Mrs Bailey’s family for their loss.”