An independent provider in the City of Southampton area

3. Ms X complains about aspects of the care and treatment she received from the Provider on 27 September 2024. Specifically, Ms X complains the Provider:

• hit her pubic bone during surgery.

4. Ms X says the Provider’s actions have led to excruciating pain in her right pubic bone, right groin, and right thigh. Ms X adds she felt pain during the surgery. Ms X says she experiences a dull ache in her side even when the pubic bone is not pressed on. Ms X tells us she can no longer be intimate with her partner and is unable to sleep properly. Ms X tells us the pain has ruined her life and makes her cry.

5. As an outcome to her complaint, Ms X is seeking an acknowledgment and an explanation of the genuine reason for her ongoing pain. Ms X also seeks a financial remedy to recognise her lived experience.

8. We have carefully considered the available information. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint where a person has (or had) the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is (or was) unreasonable in the circumstances. We have discussed this with Ms X to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it would be a reasonable option.

9. Ms X says a failing in the care by the Provider during her surgery has caused her ongoing physical pain. She believes the Provider struck her pubic bone during the procedure, leading to significant and continuing physical and emotional harm. She describes the substantial impact this has had on her daily life and wellbeing. Ms X is seeking a financial remedy in recognition of the effects of the Provider’s failings. It appears there may be a potential clinical negligence action for her to consider.

10. Clinical negligence occurs when the standard of care provided by a medical professional fall below what is reasonably expected, resulting in injury or loss. Negligence, in law, is an act or failure to act (omission), that does not meet the level of appropriate care expected, which results in injury or loss. If a doctor or health professional is negligent when giving you medical treatment, this is called 'clinical negligence'. As there are time limits for making a legal claim, we do not want to deprive her of this option when it could potentially achieve what Ms X is seeking.

11. As a legal remedy appears to be open to Ms X, we have gone on to consider whether it is reasonable for her to pursue the matter in that way. In doing this we have considered the outcomes sought, including the amount of financial remedy Ms X seeks, and whether we are likely to recommend it in relation to the injustice claimed. We discussed the figure she is hoping to achieve, by sharing our severity of injustice (SOI) scale with her. Ms X confirmed she is seeking more than £3,700 as compensation for the impact she believes the Provider has caused her.

12. If we were to investigate the complaint and were to find failing, we would likely place her case at Level 4 (£1,250–£3,700) of our SOI scale based on the impact Ms X has described to us. Our SOI scale states that a case at level 4 will involve the person affected experiencing a significant and/or lasting impact, to the extent that it has affected their ability to live a relatively normal life. Ms X has explained that the Provider’s actions have had a substantial effect on her wellbeing which seems to reflect that. However, we also need to establish a failing caused the impact, and therefore our financial remedy may be lower than this depending on what failings we can find and what we can link. We note she is also looking for admission of failings that is also achievable through our process.

13. The law says if there is a legal remedy available it should be pursued, unless it is not reasonable. We therefore carefully considered whether there are any reasons that would make exploring taking legal action not a reasonable option. To do that we considered whether legal action would address what Ms X is trying to achieve. Legal action could allow for a financial remedy. Furthermore, it is more likely to lead to a higher award (covering general and special damages), and whilst admission of failings would not be directly achievable through that process, it is a likely byproduct of successful legal action. It therefore appears legal action could achieve the outcomes she is seeking.

14. Lastly, we discussed whether there are any barriers in taking legal action. Ms X has confirmed she has not taken any legal action prior to approaching us. However, Ms X expressed she would consider legal action once we have considered her complaint. We explained to Ms X the purpose of us considering a complaint is not to establish facts that the complainant would then use in deciding whether to pursue a legal remedy, rather if a legal remedy is available (as in this case) we must consider whether there is anything to indicate it would not be reasonable to pursue it. Ms X did not advise of any other barriers in exploring the legal avenue.

15. Considering the available information, the availability of a legal remedy, and the level of financial remedy Ms X is looking for, we consider legal action should be explored in this case.

16. Ms X can return to us if she finds she is unable to pursue legal action. She can also return to us if she has outstanding outcomes after legal action such as service improvements. We have made Ms X aware of our time limits, as we are unable to investigate complaints brought to us 12 months after someone has become aware of the problem. We can put this time limit aside if we think there is a good reason to do so.

17. We were sorry to hear of Ms X’s experience and her ongoing pain. We appreciate this has not been an easy time for her.

18. We hope our decision explains why it is better to explore taking legal action as the best way to achieve the outcomes she seeks.

1. We have carefully considered Ms X’s complaint about a provider in the Southampton area. We were sorry to learn about ongoing difficulties Ms X complains about following her interactions with the Provider.

2. Having reviewed the available evidence, we consider Ms X could take legal action on the matter she has brought to us.