A woman has been awarded an undisclosed sum of more than £100,000 in compensation after botched plastic surgery left her close to death.
Denise Hendry, the wife of former Scotland football captain Colin Hendry, underwent liposuction in 2002. During the operation, the plastic surgeon mistakenly punctured her bowel and small colon nine times. She suffered blood poisoning, cardiac arrest and multiple organ failures and was in a coma for five weeks. Her state was so critical that she was given only a 30 per cent chance of survival and her four children were told that she might die. Even when she came through her ordeal, it was a further two years before she began to feel she was back to her old self.
The successful legal action against the surgeon who performed the operation yielded the six-figure out of court settlement, thought to be one of the largest obtained in this type of case. The surgeon has since applied for voluntary removal from the General Medical Council's register. As a result he can no longer practice in the UK.
Insurance industry experts predict that the number of claims of this type will increase as plastic surgery becomes more popular and widely available. Currently, £1 million in compensation is paid out each year.
