Victims of rogue surgeon owe thousands in legal bills

A group of women whose trust in the medical profession was shattered when they became victims of a rogue surgeon have been let down by a second profession.

A group of women whose trust in the medical profession was shattered when they became victims of a rogue surgeon have been let down by a second profession.

The women, who said that they had been sexually assaulted by the disgraced gynaecologist Rodney Ledward, have been left with legal bills of thousands of pounds after repeated mistakes by their solicitor led to the collapse of their claim for compensation. Some had also been victims of botched operations by Ledward.

Jane Loveday, who was paid more than £400,000 of public money in legal aid to fund the case, is now being investigated by the Law Society, which has shut her firm.

One of the women involved said she had been let down by two leading professions, a doctor and a solicitor. "I don't trust anybody any more ... I gave my faith to Jane Loveday and I really thought they were handling the case well. There's no justice, that's what I feel."

She has received a legal bill of £14,000 to cover the costs of NHS in the failed case. Another woman is facing a £12,000 claim and fears she may lose her house.

Ledward, who operated at two hospitals in Kent, left a trail of misery and botched operations before being struck off the medical register in 1998. A total of 92 women were awarded compensation in a case that cost the NHS £1.8m.

Ledward died of cancer in 2000, aged 62. Nine months later allegations that he had sexually assaulted several women came to light and Ms Loveday, who was based in Cornwall, offered to represent the women in a further claim for compensation from the NHS.

She advertised in local newspapers and eventually persuaded 59 women to become involved, of whom 16 had received payouts for the physical injuries they had received.

The case collapsed in January after Ms Loveday made errors in preparing it. The judge expressed "enormous concern" at her conduct - comments that led to the Law Society investigation.

Ms Loveday brought the case on a "no win, no fee" basis but omitted to ensure that 37 of the women who were not entitled to legal aid had taken out insurance to cover the legal costs should the case fail.

One woman, interviewed on Radio 4's PM programme, said: "I thought it was a 'no win, no fee' case. I asked her [Jane Loveday] a load of questions about what happens if ... and I said 'I am on a "no win, no fee" aren't I?' It got sort of sidelined. I was very naïve."

During the hearing, claims were made that a statement by one woman was redrafted and another woman's name remained on the claimant's list - both against their wishes. The judge, Mrs Justice Hallett, described Ms Loveday's conduct as "astonishing".

The women said their suffering had been made worse by her incompetence. One said: "I still suffer now from what Ledward did to me and I'm going to suffer for the rest of my life. But what [Jane Loveday] has done to me as well is now going to take even longer to put to the back of my mind."