A woman who had her healthy gall bladder removed after a hospital blunder could receive hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation should she decide to sue, it has been reported.

The unnamed patient went into St Mary’s Hospital in London – where health minister Lord Ara Darzi works – to have a gynaecological procedure, but was instead taken into an operating theatre where a surgeon carried out the wrong procedure.

Hospital staff have now apologised for the "regrettable error", but claim that the organ would probably have had to be removed at a later date anyway, since it was damaged.

Although the woman has not yet taken any legal action over the incident, should she launch a claim for compensation, it could be worth several hundred thousand pounds, experts said.

Victims of wrong diagnosis and other types of malpractice have a legal right to recover their damages from the hospital if it can be found to be responsible, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages and earning capacity, and more.