NHS trust pays out after death of mum-of-two

The family of a mum-of-two who died from complications following surgery have been awarded damages in an out-of-court settlement.

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust agreed a six-figure settlement with the family of Tracy Hall, of Fairfield Court, Castleford, who was 38 when she died in May 2009 at Pinderfields Hospital.

An inquest in 2012 heard that Mrs Hall, who had Crohn’s Disease, had surgery at the hospital to repair scarring to her abdomen but it did not heal properly.

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She was taken back to surgery where it was discovered that an artery had been cut and her abdominal wall had burst.

Her condition worsened and she died of multi-organ failure.

A settlement was secured by law firm Irwin Mitchell after Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust admitted mistakes were made in her care. Mrs Hall’s mum Carol said: “We never imagined that just two weeks after surgery she would no longer be with us.

“I just hope that this doesn’t happen to any other families and that the NHS Trust learns from its mistakes.”

Irwin Mitchell medical negligence lawyer Rebecca Pearey said: “We hope that lessons can be learned by staff at the hospital to ensure critical mistakes like this when treating people with Crohn’s disease do not happen again to any other families.

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“The fair settlement will go towards ensuring that her family, especially her husband and her two children, have financial support and protection in the future.”

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust said it could not comment on individual cases.

Medical director Dr Karen Stone said: “However, I can confirm that the trust has apologised to Tracy’s family and conducted its own thorough investigation, learning lessons and taking appropriate action.”