Medical negligence case study: Denise Hendry

In 2002, Denise Hendry underwent liposuction surgery. During the procedure, the doctor perforated her bowel nine times. The wife of Premiere League player Colin Hendry was left on life support with an infection, a failing kidney, and a collapsed lung. Seven years and multiple surgeries later, Denise’s weakened body succumbed to meningitis.

Now her daughter Rheagan Hendry is asking Parliament for stricter guidelines on cosmetic surgeries in the UK. “I don’t believe my mother died for nothing,” she said in a statement. “I’m fighting on her behalf.”

Rheagan created the Denise Hendry Foundation in 2011 to provide support and assistance to Britons who are victims of medical negligence. Her foundation allows patients to receive emotional advice as well as consultations for negligence claims and compensation.

Though procedures like liposuction are considered to be safe and routine by many, there are risks involved. Numbness, burns, blood clots, and organ failure are all potential complications of liposuction.

Cosmetic surgery negligence claims are on the rise as increasing numbers of Britons choose to have cosmetic surgery. The industry is largely unregulated, allowing unqualified providers to offer services to the public.

“When my mother had liposuction she thought it was safe,” said Rheagan. “Cosmetic surgery was deemed to be a quick fix, like going to get your hair done, but it clearly isn’t. If she had known the real dangers she’d never have had the operation.”

Rheagan Hendry is hoping to help educate the public and reform the industry. She created an online petition asking that the age of consent for voluntary cosmetic surgery be raised to twenty-one. The petition also asks for tighter eligibility on the criteria for some surgeries. 
 
“I know dad’s proud of what I am doing and I am sure mum would be too,” she said. “I won’t stop fighting until I’ve got justice for her.”