A woman who was left permanently disabled after a routine hip operation went wrong has won over £100,000 in damages.

Margaret Peabody, 51, was suffering from painful osteoarthritis and, in 2008, underwent an operation at the St Cross Hospital in Rugby to resurface her hip. She was told beforehand that it was a simple procedure which the surgeon had performed ‘a thousand times before’. After the operation, however, the surgeon admitted that he had accidentally cut through her sciatic nerve. When the anaesthetic wore off, Mrs Peabody discovered that she had no feeling in her right leg.

Mrs Peabody was initially told that it would take 18 months for her to recover: however, it later became apparent that she would be permanently disabled. In the months following the operation, she hardly moved from her bedroom. She eventually learned to walk again but remains seriously disabled. She has had to give up her dream of starting a business and now finds it difficult to leave the house.

She brought a claim against the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. The Trust admitted liability for Mrs Peabody’s injuries, acknowledging that surgeons should have taken more care in protecting the sciatic nerve. Mrs Peabody won more than £100,000 in compensation. This will help to pay for adaptations to her home, as well as the care she will need as she gets older.