Fiancée of ex-Sunderland chairman wins £150,000 after suing surgeon

Fiancée of ex-Sunderland chairman who was left with sepsis and ‘screaming in agony’ after botched breast lift operation in Poland wins £150,000 payout

• Laura Clarke, 36, told a court she was left ‘screaming’ in agony after the op
• She had flown to Poland for a breast lift in 2015 at Dr Adam Kalecinski’s clinic
• Ms Clarke was left with infections and started to fall ill with sepsis back in the UK
• Now court has ruled she should be paid £150,000 compensation over the ordeal 

The nightclub dancer fiancee of Sunderland AFC’s former boss has won over £150,000 compensation suing her surgeon after her cut-price foreign boob job went wrong.

Laura Clarke, 36, told a court she was left ‘screaming’ in agony after blunders left her with potentially fatal infections when she flew to Poland for a breast lift in 2015.

She had been saving for the operation for years, but ended up falling dangerously ill with sepsis and having to have life-saving surgery back in England after her treatment was botched.

She sued her surgeon, Dr Adam Kalecinski, and his company Noa Clinic Uslugi Medyczne for compensation and has now been awarded more than £150,000 by a top judge.

Ruling this week, Mrs Justice Foster said an expert had described her care to have been ‘far below an acceptable standard’ and left her at risk of death.

During the trial last June, the court heard Ms Clarke – who appeared in Netflix documentary ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’ after starting a relationship with then club boss multi-millionaire Stewart Donald – had found Dr Kalecinski’s clinic by searching online.

The nightclub dancer and stripper met with him in London and was told by the doctor that the procedure would be ‘straightforward’ and would have been much more expensive if she had booked to have it in England.

She travelled to Wroclaw, in Poland, for her boob job and thigh liposuction and had her operation under general anaesthetic on January 7, 2015.

Laura Clarke with Stewart Donald in the Sunderland stands in 2018 before he bought the club

Laura Clarke, 36, told a court she was left ‘screaming’ in agony after the op in Poland

Ms Clarke had flown to Poland for a breast lift in 2015 at Dr Adam Kalecinski’s clinic

But things quickly went wrong and she was left in agony, unable to even take her underwear off when she returned for follow-up care, she said.

She told the judge she became ‘shivery and extremely tired’ and was in ‘absolute agony’ when she went to have her dressings changed the next day.

She said she was told by Dr Kalecinski that she had ‘a very low pain threshold’ but he ultimately removed the implants.

The night after they were removed, she woke up ‘drenched in sweat’ and called emergency numbers given to her, but none were answered.

Instead, she decided to fly back to the UK by herself, boarding a plane in a wheelchair to be met by her mum.

‘On her return, she was met at the airport by her mother, Jill, who is a retired nurse,’ her barrister, Matthew Chapman, told the court.

‘Apprehending the peril her daughter was in, she conveyed her from Luton Airport to Southampton Hospital A&E where she was admitted and treated in the intensive treatment unit.

‘Her life was in some peril. After a number of invasive treatments for severe sepsis, it was necessary for her to undergo breast reconstruction surgery and skin grafting.’

Ms Clarke is engaged to  former Sunderland AFC boss and multi-millionaire Stewart Donald

Ms Clarke travelled to Wroclaw, in Poland, for her boob job and thigh liposuction and had her operation under general anaesthetic on January 7, 2015

Giving evidence, Miss Clarke’s mum said she had driven ‘like a maniac’ to the airport to meet her daughter and had got her to A&E in ‘the nick of time’ after spotting the signs of sepsis.

Medics at Southampton Hospital had told her family that she might not even survive, having suffered infections following the £3,240 procedure, but she pulled through and later had reconstructive surgery privately.

Her mum said Miss Clarke had before the surgery been ‘a very successful and outgoing nightclub dancer and stripper’ but had not been able to return to a job where her body would be on show.

Arguing that Dr Kalecinski and his clinic’s care of Miss Clarke was ‘negligent,’ her barrister Mr Chapman said: ‘The surgery, to put it neutrally, was not successful.

‘Very shortly after the date on which the operation took place, she developed symptoms consistent with an infection or infections.

‘In rapid course, they became severe and ultimately life-threatening, and caused her immense pain and discomfort.’

Miss Clarke, of Southampton, went on to sue Dr Kalecinski, his clinic and their insurer, but neither the doctor nor the clinic were represented at the trial.

Ruling that they were to blame, the judge said evidence put before the court during the trial from medical experts had described the pre-operative treatment as ‘inadequate.’

The evidence also suggested ‘systematic failing’ in post-operative care, with the level of care falling ‘well below an acceptable standard’ and resulting in serious injury to Miss Clarke.

‘In particular [breast surgery expert] Fulvio Urso-Baiarda Urso-Baiarda stated that the multiple infections could not be attributed to misfortune but on the balance of probabilities represented a problem in the process, and that the surgery was not properly conducted and the facilities where it was carried out were inadequate and/or contained inadequate decontamination measures,’ she continued.

‘The failure to treat her properly is described as increasing the likelihood of her suffering grave consequences, which included death.

‘He describes the failure adequately to manage her potentially life-threatening complications as falling ‘far below an acceptable standard’.

‘I have no hesitation in concluding that the case of negligence is made out against both [Dr Kalecinski and Noa].’

The judge awarded her £34,684.71 damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, £27,891.99 for past losses and £92,497.47 for future losses and expenses, a total of over £155,000.

Miss Clarke appeared with Stewart Donald in the 2018 documentary ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’, which charted his takeover of the club and its failed promotion bid in 2018-19.

Mr Donald sold his controlling stake in the club in December 2020.

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