Unnecessary operation claim thrown out

A claim for more than £700,000 in damages, based on allegations of an unnecessary operation, has been thrown out by the Appeal Court. The man had a tracheotomy operation to deal with sleep apnoea, which causes breathlessness and heavy snoring, and was forced to breath through a tube for six years. The man claimed that the operation was unnecessary, but the court upheld the Health Authority’s view that it was medically justified on the facts known at the time. The claim is to be taken to the European Court of Justice.