Postpartum DVT

In this video, our client Mr Darren Taylor talks to the BBC about his wife Alison who died 3 weeks after giving birth to their baby girl.  Alison suffered a DVT which went undiagnosed.  This resulted in her suffering a pulmonary embolism (the clot travelled to her lungs), and this proved to be fatal.  

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This was a tragedy which could have been avoided had Alison been scanned and the DVT picked up.  Her doctors failed to take her complaints seriously.  Alison Taylor left behind 3 young children.

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The hospital and the GP refused to accept responsibility for Alison’s death and defended the case for 7 years.

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Our expert team fought hard and eventually secured a 6-figure settlement for Mr Taylor and his 3 children.

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A postpartum DVT is a deep vein thrombosis which occurs in the period after delivery of a baby. It is a condition where blood clot(s) form in the deep veins of the legs after childbirth. 

This can happen due to various factors such as hormonal changes during pregnancy, immobility during labour and delivery, injury to blood vessels during delivery, and other risk factors like obesity, age, or a history of blood clots – these can all be contributing factors.

A postpartum DVT can be fatal and lead to complications like pulmonary embolism which can result in death if not diagnosed or treated promptly and appropriately. This is what happened to our client Alison who sadly passed away 3 weeks after delivery.

Some examples of negligence involving postpartum DVTs include:

• Failing to assess and manage risk factors for DVT risk factors and / or ignoring risk factors.
• Inadequate prophylaxis (measures to prevent a DVT before it occurs). Failing to provide anticoagulant therapy, improper dosing or failing to use mechanical methods such as compression stockings.
• Missing the signs of a postpartum DVT which causes a delay in diagnosing and treating it.
• Failure to diagnose a DVT leading to complications.