Ectopic pregnancy is a common, occasionally life-threatening condition that affects around 1 in 80 pregnancies in the UK, according to the charity The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.
Each year nearly 12,000 women in Britain have ectopic pregnancies diagnosed.
However, the true figure, including those ectopic pregnancies that are undiagnosed could amount to more than 30,000.
As a medical negligence, and, specifically, a birth negligence solicitor, I understand that losing any pregnancy can be devastating and complications arising from an ectopic pregnancy can have lasting consequences.
Unfortunately, not everyone will receive the necessary early treatment they deserve but I have outlined what should be the most appropriate clinical practice you should experience when the condition is diagnosed and treated.
Reasons for an ectopic pregnancy compensation claim include:
- Healthcare professionals missing tell-tale signs leading to a late diagnosis
- Scans being misinterpreted resulting in a pregnancy being incorrectly deemed normal
- Surgery not carried out as promptly as it should have been
- Mistakes during surgery to remove the ectopic pregnancy
- Patients not being appropriately monitored
Read more: Birth Injury Claims
What is an ectopic pregnancy?
In normal circumstances, once an egg is fertilised, it will travel down a fallopian tube and implant into the wall of the mother’s womb.
But in an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilised egg implants outside the womb, often in the wall of the fallopian tube itself.
Ectopic pregnancies cannot continue. In some instances, the pregnancy will fail naturally, but in other cases, medical intervention will be needed to end the pregnancy; this could involve the mother having to take medication or have an operation.
What are the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy?
- A missed or late period
- Vaginal bleeding
- Low tummy pain on one side
- Shoulder tip pain
- Discomfort when going to the toilet
- Feeling light-headed, or fainting
Click here: For your nearest Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU)
How is an ectopic pregnancy diagnosed?
As some of these symptoms can be vague, once a patient has had a positive pregnancy test, there are other assessments that can be carried out which include:
- An ultrasound scan: An ectopic pregnancy is often diagnosed by a clinician carrying out a trans-vaginal ultrasound scan; this will produce an image that can indicate whether the fertilised egg has implanted somewhere other than in the womb.
- Blood tests: If a pregnancy cannot be seen blood will be taken to measure a pregnancy hormone. This will help doctors to decide if a repeat ultrasound scan is needed to identify the location of the pregnancy.
- Surgery: It is sometimes necessary for the patient to have exploratory keyhole surgery.
How is an ectopic pregnancy removed?
- ‘Expectant Management’: This is monitoring by medical professionals instead of immediate treatment.
- Many ectopic pregnancies will end naturally and there will be no need for an operation or a drug to treat the condition.
- Medical treatment: The drug methotrexate stops a pregnancy developing further and the fertilized egg is gradually reabsorbed by the body leaving the Fallopian tube intact. Methotrexate is most effective in the earlier stages of pregnancy. The treatment is given by means of an injection and requires careful monitoring and follow-up.
- Surgical Treatment: The most established form of treatment is an operation using ‘keyhole surgery’.
Read more: How do I make a complaint about medical treatment?
Clinical negligence and ectopic pregnancies – how Hudgell Solicitors can help
Should you or a loved one have suffered an ectopic pregnancy and believe it to have been misdiagnosed or subject to delayed treatment you may be entitled to make a birth injury claim for compensation for the consequences of this, a birth injury lawyer can assist you.
It may be that a patient attends hospital having had positive pregnancy test and is complaining of vaginal bleeding, only to be incorrectly advised that they have suffered a miscarriage.
Alternatively, a patient might be reassured that all is well with the pregnancy despite their symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy, or a patient may find that the results of a vaginal ultrasound scan or blood test are incorrectly interpreted.
If there has been a delay in diagnosis, working out the extent of that delay will be important. That is because the sooner an ectopic pregnancy is detected, the better the treatment options are.
If there is a considerable delay, the fallopian tube containing the pregnancy may rupture and emergency surgery will be required.
Compensation can then potentially be claimed for that surgery if that operation would not have been needed with an earlier diagnosis.
For some women, a delay in diagnosing their ectopic pregnancy can be life- changing.
If, for example, a woman only has one healthy fallopian tube and because of the delay in diagnosing the pregnancy, her remaining tube ruptures and has to be removed, she will be infertile.
A claim for compensation in these circumstances could include a claim for assisted fertility funding.
As well as dealing with cases involving a delay in diagnosing an ectopic pregnancy, there might also be circumstances where a woman has undergone surgery to remove the pregnancy and that has, in turn, caused problems.
Claims centring around the standard of that surgery can also be investigated by birth injury solicitors.
Making a compensation claim for ectopic pregnancy clinical negligence
There can be both significant physical and psychological consequences of care relating to ectopic pregnancies.
The financial impact of these problems can cause further issues for families.
At Hudgell Solicitors, we have clinical and medical negligence solicitors who are used to dealing with both the medical and legal issues and supporting people through the process of investigating a claim in these difficult circumstances.
The first step is to get in touch. You can begin by contacting us via our claim form and selecting Birth Injury as the type of claim. You can also call us for a confidential discussion of your current situation or arrange a meeting to suit you via our online form.
