Women’s Health Series: 3. Hysterectomy Claims

A lack of awareness and understanding appears to exist when it comes to women’s reproductive health conditions, and the diagnosis and treatment of hysterectomies is no exception to this.

In this blog we discuss where negligence can occur in relation to the treatment of hysterectomies, from initial misdiagnoses to surgical errors.

What is a Hysterectomy?

A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the womb (uterus) and is carried out to treat health problems that affect the female reproductive system. Women will typically undergo a hysterectomy to treat problems such as heavy periods, fibroids, or chronic period pains. Roughly 55,000 hysterectomies are performed in the UK every year on women mainly in their 40s and 50s. 

Barriers to Treatment

Women undergoing hysterectomies can face numerous issues when trying to access treatment. These may include gender bias which leads to women’s reproductive pains being normalised or dismissed, NHS delays due to chronic underfunding, and the rising costs of private procedures by 19% from 2021 to 2024. For more information on this topic, please see Rebecca Linnell’s recent blog discussing the current crisis in accessing gynaecology care here.

Hysterectomy Negligence

If problems arise in the care associated with a hysterectomy, there may be a legal claim for negligence which should be investigated.

Below, are some examples of potential negligence involving hysterectomies that may give rise to a legal claim for compensation.

Surgical Errors

During hysterectomy procedures it is possible for surgical errors to occur. While some issues that may arise are known risks of the surgery (for which the patient should have been appropriately consented for), other complications may be as a result of negligent care. For example, a patient’s bladder may become damaged as the abdomen is being opened, particularly if prior procedures, such as a c-section, have left a thin layer of scar tissue.

In a recently reported settled case [1], a Claimant received compensation following injuries to her bladder which she negligently sustained during a hysterectomy procedure. This resulted in her developing a fistula and experiencing incontinence. Following two surgeries which failed to repair the fistula, she was discharged home with a catheter. Approximately five months later a final repair surgery took place which was successful in resolving her incontinence. Her case included claims for sexual dysfunction, psychiatric injury, and loss of earnings as a result of her injuries. In this case the Claimant also made allegations against the Defendant that she was inadequately consented regarding the option of a total or sub-total hysterectomy. Liability was admitted by the Defendant in relation to the inter-operative injury sustained to her bladder, but they denied allegations that the Claimant was inadequately consented. We discuss the wider issues surrounding informed consent for hysterectomy procedures later in this blog.

It is also important to note that negligent care can arise not just from damage caused during a hysterectomy, but also extends to when non-negligent damage has not been identified and repaired when it reasonably should have been. For example, damage to the ureter is a known risk of a hysterectomy, but it is usually recognised and repaired during the surgery. A Claimant may therefore be successful in bringing a legal claim following a hysterectomy, despite any damage caused being a known complication, if it is found that the Defendant was negligent in not identifying and repairing such damage during the hysterectomy procedure. 

If damage caused during surgery is left untreated, it can result in additional pain, complications and often requires a further corrective surgery once the damage has eventually been identified.

Early recognition of damage is therefore key, as operating staff can defer to the relevant disciplined doctor, for example a Urologist, to deal with immediate repairs, thereby minimising any long-term problems. Where there is a failure to recognise and rectify the damage, there may be grounds for a clinical negligence claim. 

Delayed Diagnosis

The lack of awareness of women’s reproductive health conditions can lead to a delay in the diagnosis of symptoms. This is a common reason for potential negligence claims, due to the fact that delays can lead to a deterioration of symptoms. As a result, a report by the Women and Equalities Committee has called on the NHS to ‘urgently implement a training programme to improve the experience’ of accessing treatment and diagnosis for women with reproductive ill health.

Improving early diagnosis, such as through the provision of follow up appointments, and second opinions where warranted must be a priority to prevent a deterioration of symptoms. The NHS must take steps to ensure practitioners keep up to date with the full range of diagnostics available to them to allow patients to be diagnosed at the earliest opportunity, hopefully resulting in less invasive treatment being required, and thus avoiding the subsequent risks associated with undergoing a hysterectomy.

As covered earlier in this blog, delayed diagnosis and repair of non-negligent complications that occur during hysterectomy procedures may give rise to a legal claim. It is also possible for negligent delayed diagnosis of inter-operative injuries during other surgeries to have the disastrous outcome of an emergency hysterectomy being carried out. In the reported settled case of MD v University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust [2], the Claimant attended her 12-week ultrasound scan which showed the foetus to have severe abnormalities to the skull and brain with hydrocephalus. She was therefore consented to have a termination of pregnancy that afternoon. Multiple negligent complications arose both in the lead up to her surgery, and the surgery itself, including perforation of the Claimant’s uterus. She was given a laparotomy but after several attempts to stop the internal bleeding, the Defendant made the decision to carry out a hysterectomy. There were numerous allegations of negligence made by the Claimant, one of which was the Defendants delay in identifying the perforations. Liability was admitted by the Defendant.

The Misdiagnosis or Mistreatment of Symptoms

Whilst some gynaecological conditions do warrant a hysterectomy, this is not always the case. Patients may therefore find themselves having been negligently advised to undergo a hysterectomy when in fact, there were alternative, more suitable treatment options which should have been considered in the first instance. If a woman undergoes a hysterectomy when this was not necessary, there may be a legal claim.

Failures to Obtain Informed Consent

Increasing numbers of women have reported having inadequate time to consider the hysterectomy procedure and its possible consequences. For example, in April 2025 it was reported that the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales found that a patient, Ms A, had a hysterectomy without giving her informed consent. According to Ms A, it was not until the morning of her surgery that she was made aware that a hysterectomy may be performed as part of her procedure, and this was described by the ombudsman as being a ‘serious failing’.

The Government response to the Women and Equalities Committee’s first report states that moving forward, a risk assessment that allows a patient to make an informed choice on the recommended procedure should be undertaken as standard, taking account of any previous history of undergoing related procedures. This should also include consideration of the patient’s mental and physical preparedness for the procedure.

If consent was not properly obtained and the hysterectomy treatment caused an injury, a claim for medical negligence may be possible. However, it is worth noting that such claims can be challenging to prove. More information can be found on our Claims for a lack of informed consent webpage.

Legal claims

The Kingsley Napley team specialise in gynaecology cases with a wealth of experience in this area. If, following a hysterectomy you are concerned about any of the issues raised in this article, please do not hesitate to contact our supportive and friendly team for a no obligation discussion.

[1] Lawtel, X v Barts Health NHS Trust (27 June 2024)
[2] Lawtel, MD v University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Nhs Foundation Trust (25 February 2014)

Further information

If you have any questions regarding this blog, please contact Laura Vincent Evans or Asha Kaushal in our Medical Negligence and Personal Injury team.

 

About the authors

Laura is an Associate in the Medical Negligence & Personal Injury team, having qualified in September 2022.

Asha is a Trainee Solicitor currently in her second seat with the Medical Negligence & Personal Injury team. Asha joined Kingsley Napley in September 2024.