Tormeys settle case involving informed consent in a vasectomy procedure

Tormeys Solicitors acted for the Plaintiff in this case who claimed that he had not been fully informed of the recognised risks of possible complications and consequences of a vasectomy procedure.

The Defendant carried out a vasectomy on the Plaintiff in December 2009. The Plaintiff developed very severe post-operative scrotal hematoma requiring him to undergo a surgical drainage procedure and he was hospitalised for 13 days. The Plaintiff suffered chronic inflammation of the prostate and scrotal pain following the procedure.

It was necessary for the Plaintiff to attend a Consultant Urologist who subsequently referred him to a Consultant Pain Specialist to treat his chronic pain. The Plaintiff was advised that his condition may have been caused by a chronic orchalgia, a recognised complication of vasectomies. It was believed that the haematoma suffered by the Plaintiff in the immediate aftermath of his vasectomy may have contributed to the onset of the orchalgia.

A full defence was delivered in the case which set out that the Plaintiff had been fully informed of the risks of the procedure and his informed consent had been obtained.

Following negotiations between the parties, the case ultimately settled in favourable terms for the Plaintiff and his legal costs were also discharged by the Defendant.