A Dublin woman has been awarded just over $566,000 against an obstetrician over a botched hysterectomy.

Cynthia Kinsella sued consultant obstetrician and gynecologist Dr Gerry Rafferty over an operation he carried out at Mount Carmel Hospital, Dublin, on April 7, 2008.

The 52-year-old former secretary need the operation because she suffered from menorrhagia, a heavy menstrual bleeding condition.

The Herald reports that three weeks after the surgery, her bladder began leaking, known medically as a fistula, causing her great distress.

Kinsella underwent another operation to repair the problem in July. The surgery was carried out by another doctor assisted by Dr Rafferty.

On Friday Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill found the probable cause of the fistula was a misplaced suture into the bladder by Dr Rafferty.

The doctor "flatly denied" this, believing Kinsella had suffered a rare complication of a hysterectomy. However, the judge rejected the doctor's evidence.

The judge was satisfied Kinsella developed a severe anxiety disorder with a depressive element caused by negligence in the operation and that she will continue to be afflicted for the foreseeable future.

Kinsella was in a senior secretarial position with an engineering firm until November 2008, when she was made redundant a few months after the operation.

The judge said that her capacity for work had been greatly degraded by the disorder and she would have "absolutely no chance" of holding down a new job.

The judge believed that had Kinsella not suffered as a result of this operation, she would in all probability have sought alternative employment after redundancy.