£90,000 settlement allows couple to fund IVF treatment after negligent surgery
Tees secured a £90,000 settlement for a woman who became infertile after her left fallopian tube was damaged as a result of negligent surgery.
The settlement allowed our client, Alicia*, to fund fertility treatment so that she could have a family after negligent surgery left her infertile.
In 2008, Alicia had surgery to repair a hernia. The hernia was located on the left side of her body, near her groin, and the surgeons noted that it contained her fallopian tube and ovary. Alicia’s doctors told her that the surgery went well and she trusted them. At the time of her surgery, Alicia was 24 years old and had not started her family yet – although she always intended to have children, when the time was right.
Alicia and her partner, Lewis, were both one of four children. They always wanted to have a large family, and hoped to have four children together. They decided to start their family in 2014 and were excited about their future together. After a few months of trying, Alicia fell pregnant. Unfortunately, she suffered a ruptured ectopic pregnancy of her right fallopian tube and she lost her baby. She needed surgery to remove the ruptured tube. During surgery, her doctors noticed that her left fallopian tube was missing. Removal of the ruptured tube meant that Alicia was left completely infertile, and would need in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in order to have children.
The news was devastating, and the couple felt as though their dream of having a large family had been taken away. The news hit Alicia particularly hard, and she developed severe depression after learning that she would not be able to have children without IVF. The couple struggled to come to terms with what had happened to them, and felt that the future they had been planning for so long had been lost.
Alicia and Lewis asked Tees if they had a claim for medical negligence, and we took their case on. Our goal was to establish why Alicia’s left fallopian tube was missing, and to help the couple secure IVF treatment.
Our examination started with Alicia’s hernia surgery in 2008. Because the surgery was performed very close to Alicia’s left fallopian tube, it could have caused damage to the tube. With the support of a general surgery expert, we alleged that the hernia surgery had been performed negligently and had caused the loss of Alicia’s left fallopian tube (either through damage or removal). If Alicia’s left fallopian tube had not been missing, she would have had a chance to conceive naturally. The hospital admitted liability in full and apologised for what had happened.
During this time, Alicia and Lewis had their first child through IVF treatment provided on the NHS. However, the NHS would not fund further IVF treatment once they had a baby and the couple were not in a position to fund more IVF treatment themselves. Tees argued that Alicia and Lewis had always wanted a large family – and the negligent surgery had made this impossible without IVF. We negotiated a settlement of £90,000 so that Alicia and Lewis could have the family they had always wanted. The figure was based on the number of IVF cycles it was likely to take for the couple to have three more children.
The settlement will allow Alicia and Lewis to fund more IVF treatment, which would otherwise have been financially out of reach. Now, the couple have the answers about what went wrong and can start to rebuild their lives – and, with the IVF treatment, a chance to grow their family.
“I can’t thank you enough for everything. You have been so helpful and efficient throughout and I’m really pleased with the result. It does feel like a weight has been lifted now and hopefully, plenty more [children] to come,” said Alicia, following the news that her claim had settled.
“This was a challenging claim to value and with the help of an expert in gynaecology and fertility, we carefully assessed the number of cycles that Alicia would require in the future, in order to give her the best chance of having three further children,” Katheryn Riggs, Associate Solicitor (Bishop's Stortford) who worked on the case said. “I am delighted that we have been able to get answers and an apology for what went wrong, and that Alicia and Lewis can now move on with having the family that they had both always hoped for.”
*Client names have been changed to protect their privacy.
Free, confidential advice on medical negligence
Call for a FREE initial consultation on 0333 252 5363
Alternatively, come in for a free, confidential, no obligation chat, or fill out our enquiry form and we will let you know how we can help. We can also visit you at your home if you wish.
Our medical negligence lawyers are based in:
- Cambridgeshire: Cambridge
- Essex: Brentwood, Chelmsford and Saffron Walden
- Hertfordshire: Bishop's Stortford & Royston
But we can help you wherever you are in England and Wales.
Chat to the Author, Janine Collier
Executive Partner, Medical Negligence, Cambridge office
Meet Janine
- Areas of expertise
- Accreditations
- Testimonials
Legal 500 UK 2025
East Anglia
Janine Collier - one of the outstanding practitioners in the country. Not only excellent on all her own cases but ensures the standards of the whole team are extremely high.
Legal 500 UK 2025
East Anglia
Janine Collier is an excellent solicitor and runs a very dedicated and efficient team.
Legal 500 UK 2025
East Anglia
Janine Collier is exceptional for her detailed factual and legal analysis of claims, the high standard of her instructions, and her sensitive client management. Her energy is remarkable.
Legal 500 UK 2025
East Anglia
Janine Collier is an extremely able and committed lawyer; apart from her skill as a litigator and negotiator, Janine is known for going the extra mile for her clients. Janine's tenacity is evident from the excellent case outcomes she achieves; even in the most complex of cases, she is unafraid to litigate if the right settlement cannot be achieved, but her negotiating skills are such that she sees the benefits of settlement where the award is at an appropriate level as this provides certainty that does not follow litigation.
Legal 500 UK 2025
East Anglia
'Janine Collier inspired confidence and put us at ease. Janine always showed great empathy, and we felt we weren't treated simply as a case but as individuals. She was in regular contact by phone/email - even out of hours when required. She built a great team of experts for our case - and regularly questioned and challenged them. She also found us a good case manager, who found us experts who could really help us - and she negotiated an advance on our settlement to fund these.
Anonymous
Cambridge
Janine was extremely compassionate and caring about my experiences. Her words have remained dear to my heart and kept me strong throughout this process. She is a remarkable lady who truly wanted the best outcome for me. Anytime I contacted her, she always explained everything thoroughly and in detail. My queries were always resolved in her presence. She has a very good heart.
Legal 500 UK 2024
East Anglia
Janine Collier is a stand-out. She would be coveted by all top firms. An excellent leader, an excellent litigator.
Legal 500 UK 2024
East Anglia
Janine Collier has been brilliant throughout our whole process, and I have felt extremely supported and able to trust that she has my son’s best interests in mind with everything she does.
Legal 500 UK 2024
East Anglia
Janine Collier is hugely able and extremely hard-working – a perfect leader of the team as well as a fantastic litigator.
Legal 500 UK 2023
'Janine Collier has an amazing reputation and quite rightly, she very quickly spotted something that wasn’t the main focus of the case but is able to zoom out and look at everything that’s going on and spot things others wouldn’t spot. You can tell she really cares and is a very dedicated person who just wants to help. The team are all caring and efficient'
A
Cambridge
'A heartfelt thank you for all you have done in preparation for and during the settlement meeting, as well as for your unfailing support along the way, in and out of hours. It is undoubtedly due to your high professionalism if the outcome today has exceeded all expectations; it will be a huge help for us going forward and we will be forever grateful'
Chambers & Partners 2022
Cambridge
'Janine Collier is renowned for her handling of delay in diagnosis, obstetric injury and surgical negligence claims. She is at the top of her game and knows clinical negligence inside and out'
Susan Hickman
Cambridge
'We consider ourselves fortunate to have been recommended to Tees by the solicitor we initially approached. We did not realise it until the case was well established that the level of professional care we were receiving was exceptional and that the experience of the individuals and the contacts they have to assist in a very complex case was the best available. We are grateful that we received a satisfactory settlement as a result of their efforts under difficult circumstances and dealing with defendants that were obstructive and disorganised. By far the greatest benefit for us however is the fact that the victim, with assistance from highly skilled experts that we would not have known about otherwise, learned to walk short distances when all other medical opinion did not consider this possible. This was their greatest achievement which is well beyond the service we expected'
The Fisher family
Janine works with empathy, understanding and compassion. She handled our mother's inquest with skill and sensitivity and guided us expertly. She kept us informed continually via email and multiple meetings and phone calls. Janine completely took the sting and the stress out of our case.