A prominent Canberra doctor, found to have failed in his duty of care to a patient, has lost in his attempt to clear his name.
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The ACT Court of Appeal took about 10 minutes to throw out obstetrician and gynaecologist Andrew Foote's appeal against a decision to award an injured patient $284,427.16.
In 2012, acting Justice Margaret Sidis found in the ACT Supreme Court that Dr Foote had failed in his duty of care before, during and after the surgery on patient Susan Virginia Dixon.
Dr Foote performed an abdominal hysterectomy and treatment for the breakdown of a mesh sling that provided support following the prolapse of Ms Dixon's uterus in September 2004.
The court found Ms Dixon's right ureter was damaged during the procedure, causing urine to leak.
Dr Foote appealed the decision, arguing that many of the findings had not been open to acting Justice Sidis.
But the three appeal judges – Justice Richard Refshauge, Chief Justice Helen Murrell and Justice John Dowsett – found there had been no appealable error.
The judgment will be published at a later date.
Ms Dixon and her supporters embraced after the appeal had been thrown out.
Thursday's decision ends years of legal wrangling on the case.
The appeal was originally scheduled to be heard in February last year, but was vacated after the two parties signed an agreement out of court.
Dr Foote's legal team argued the original judgment had contained an appealable error and wanted the case heard once again before a different judge.
The parties applied to the appeal court to have the matter relisted before a Supreme Court judge, but the request was rejected.
The court was not prepared to accept the terms of settlement lodged by the parties and ordered that the appeal be re-listed before a differently constituted court of appeal.
In her judgment, Justice Hilary Penfold