A woman who was unable to have children after a hospital failed to diagnose and treat a molar pregnancy in time has been awarded £160,000 compensation.
Joanne Connolly was awarded damages in a High Court settlement following her medical negligence claim against the Western Health and Social Care Trust.
Her solicitors said the trust admitted failing to have a policy in place for dealing with the condition.
This led to her emergency hysterectomy, they said.
Despite further attendances, the diagnosis of a molar pregnancy was not immediately established.
Mrs Connolly's lawyers claimed the absence of a management policy for a molar pregnancy led to a delay in treating the life-threatening condition.
A month later, Mrs Connolly had to undergo a hysterectomy.
Mrs Connolly's lawyers said the trust denied liability for nine years before finally admitting their negligence last month.
"I continue to feel let down by my initial treatment at Altnagelvin Hospital and the subsequent way in which the trust conducted the legal proceedings," Mrs Connolly said.
"I regard the settlement as a clear acknowledgement of failings on the part of the hospital and doctors involved.
"No amount of money can compensate for what happened to me, depriving me of the ability to ever have my own children.
"I hope that following my case, a policy is now in place and that no-one else has to suffer as I have done."
A molar pregnancy is caused by an error in the transfer of genetic information between the sperm and egg during fertilisation.
This results in the egg developing into what is called a hydatidiform mole instead of a normal foetus.
This mole has the potential to develop into a tumour. Up to three in every 10,000 pregnancies are molar and the risk rises substantially as a woman gets older.
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