BREAST BUTCHER VICTIMS HIT BY COMPO SNUB
Hundreds are forced to take claims to court after hospitals refuse to pay out
HUNDREDS of victims of breast surgeon butcher Ian Paterson are being forced to sue private hospitals who are refusing them compensation. Health chiefs informed the traumatised victims that hospitals where the Glasgow-born medic performed botched surgeries are not responsible for his actions. The Medical Defence Union (MDU) – who provide professional indemnity against legal claims – have also refused to pay out. They say a clause in Paterson’s policy said he was not covered in the event of a criminal conviction.
Paterson, 59, was sentenced to 15 years for carrying out “needless” surgery, including mastectomies, on 10 victims.
He was convicted of 17 charges of wounding with intent and unlawful wounding over the breast operations.
His jail term was increased to 20 years on Thursday after Court of Appeal judges ruled the original sentence had been “unduly lenient”. Hundreds of NHS victims have won £18million of compensation. But 700 private patients have received nothing.
They are taking demands for a payout from Spire Healthcare, or the MDU, to the High Court in October.
Victim Cheryl Iommi, 51, said: “He escaped justice for years and even now he is in jail I am having to go through the courts to get a penny back.”
A Spire spokesman said the court case was “an appropriate way of determining who is responsible for Ian Paterson’s actions and securing compensation and justice”.