A mother of three who had her womb removed without her consent during an operation at a Dublin hospital two years ago was awarded £70,000 and costs in the High Court yesterday.
Mr Justice Quirke said he hoped the Rotunda Hospital had initiated steps to ensure no other woman underwent an experience similar to that of Ms Linda Gillick.
The removal of a woman's womb against her wishes was a matter "of the utmost gravity".
Ms Gillick (37), of Glenview, Stamullen Road, Gormanston, Co Meath, had sued Dr Ian Dalrymple, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, over an operation he carried out at the Rotunda Hospital on January 20th, 1995. Dr Dalrymple has since died but the action against him proceeded as if he were still alive.
At the opening of the action, the court was told that Ms Gillick, a mother of three boys, attended the doctor following problems with a prolapsed womb.
She decided to have a repair procedure carried out because she wished to have a baby girl. However, instead of a repair procedure, her womb was removed.
Delivering his decision yesterday, Mr Justice Quirke said he thought the outcome of the operation carried out on Ms Gillick could be fairly described as "startling". No explanation had been offered as to how the event came about.
He said he devoutly hoped that "appropriate steps have been taken, and procedures put in place, directed towards ensuring no other woman has to endure what Ms Gillick has endured".
He said Ms Gillick had been the victim of serious negligence and had suffered profoundly as a result.
The removal of a woman's womb against her wishes was clearly a grave matter. The removal of the womb of a woman aged 34, against her express wishes, and a mother contemplating having further children, was a matter of the utmost gravity.
The judge said a young woman who was committed to remaining fertile had been rendered infertile and had suffered severe psychological injury, which had required treatment and which had endured for almost three years.
He said he was satisfied the psychological injury had drastically affected Ms Gillick's life domestically and in her relationship with her husband.
She had lost employment as a nurse, and the fulfilment associated with that, and had had virtually no recreational enjoyment of life since the incident.