Julie Connell suffered a damaged bowel during surgery to remove a cancerous kidney at Hereford County Hospital in 2013, according to medical negligence lawyers Irwin Mitchell, who she instructed before her death to investigate her care under Wye Valley NHS Trust.
The firm said the mother of four and grandmother of three was hit by repeated infections and abscesses, as despite having drainage bags fitted, fluid continued to leak into her body, and was diagnosed with abdominal sepsis and given antibiotics.
Further surgery in 2017 did not remove the damaged section of bowel, Irwin Mitchell said.
Two perforations were found at another hospital in June 2019, but the 58-year-old's condition continued to deteriorate and she died in August 2020 from acute respiratory distress caused by abdominal sepsis.