Bile Duct Injury During Gallbladder Surgery

Background

Mrs S was diagnosed with gallstones and a surgeon advised her to have her gallbladder removed. A laparoscopic cholecystectomy took place at her local hospital by a general surgeon. Following surgery, Mrs S was informed that a gallstone had been removed, but they had not been able to remove the entire gallbladder due to inflammation.

Mrs S then had a CT and MRI scan that diagnosed a possible biliary injury for which she needed further surgery. She was transferred to another hospital where she underwent an open reconstruction of her bile duct.

This surgical negligence claim was pursued on the basis that the surgeon wrongly clipped the common hepatic duct rather than the cystic duct during her operation. If the anatomy could not be clearly delineated, the surgeon should not have proceeded to divide the duct. 

The interpretation of the on-table cholangiogram resulted in clipping and division of the common hepatic duct in place of the cystic duct. This led to Mrs S requiring additional surgery and suffering a prolonged recovery.

Settlement

Liability was admitted following service of the Letter of Claim, and the claim was settled prior to the issue of proceedings for £180,000, with £120,000 representing special damages.

This case was led by Jessica Wright.

NOTE: While our case studies are designed to give an indication of the outcomes that can be achieved in these circumstances, the compensation awarded in individual cases can vary significantly due to a range of factors, including effects on life expectancy, the severity of the medical negligence that took place, and the financial impact.