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Thompsons Solicitors has secured a six-figure compensation for a woman in Corton following her mesh surgery agony.
Sheila Webb, 54, underwent mesh surgery in June 2015 after experiencing leaking, years after giving birth to her three children.
“I was told it was a mid-urethral sling and that it was the gold standard treatment,” said Mrs Webb, who is originally from Aldershot but now lives in Corton, Suffolk. “There was never any mention of mesh.”
| Sheila Webb, who has been left in crippling pain due to mesh surgery |
In fact, the sling which is placed underneath the urethra – the tube that goes from the bladder to the outside - and is meant to support it when running, laughing, sneezing and other impact activities, is made of mesh.
After the operation at James Paget University Hospital, Mrs Webb was having trouble urinating and within 48 hours of being discharged, she was at her doctors in tears because of the agony she constantly felt. Nothing alleviated her pain, regardless of whether she was standing up, sitting down or lying in bed.
“I came out of the surgery with bruises as big as CDs on my inner thighs,” she added. “Soon after they felt as if a hot needle was being shoved down them. It was horrific.”
The mesh, which is now known to embed itself and cut into soft tissue has been described as like chewing gum in hair to remove. Five years on Mrs Webb who works as a radio operator at a local taxi firm often needs time off from her job due to the pain, and has been unable to work for approximately nine months so far.
She contacted medical negligence experts at Thompsons to investigate a mesh claim, who secured her a six-figure compensation.
“I’m on an enormous amount of pain killers but they don’t give me any real respite. It’s completely changed my life. I can no longer do any of the housework, cooking, gardening or even walk my dogs. Being able to do normal everyday activities is what I miss most. I’m lucky my husband of 27 years takes care of all of that now, but it’s incredibly frustrating to not be able to do such simple things myself anymore.
“To top it all off, the incontinence is still a problem. All of this pain for all these years has been for nothing.”
Alexandra Scott, who represented Mrs Webb, said: “While we are pleased to have secured such a substantial sum for Sheila, you cannot put a price on your health. Compensation, however deserved for what she has been through, and will continue to go through, won’t take her pain away. At least Sheila has some financial security and she can feel that she has held those who should have warned her of the risks so she could make an informed decision to account.
“Surgical mesh is one of the greatest medical scandals we’ve seen and we’re committed to campaigning to expose its dangers and supporting those whose lives have been devastated by it.”
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