A pregnant woman discharged from Calvary Hospital while still in pain before she had to return due to complications with her pregnancy has won the medical negligence case she launched.
Last week, the ACT Supreme Court awarded her more than $118,000 against Calvary Healthcare ACT.
The woman previously had two miscarriages, as well as her first ectopic pregnancy, which is when a fertilised egg grows outside of the uterus, resulting in the removal of one fallopian tube. She did give birth to a child after this surgery.
Then in July 2019, she was in her late 20s and five weeks pregnant when she went to the then-Calvary Hospital in north Canberra in pain, bleeding and scared she might be suffering from a second ectopic pregnancy, Justice Belinda Baker said in her recently released sentencing remarks.
“If untreated, an ectopic pregnancy can be dangerous and can result in death,” the judge said.
“It is clearly foreseeable that a patient may suffer both physical and emotional harm if the patient is not provided with appropriate care in connection with that condition.”
She was discharged from hospital the next day, but her pain increased until it was excruciating and she returned the following morning when she was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy.