For many people who get cauda equina syndrome, their lives will never be the same again. They may go from once perfectly healthy individuals to suffering severe neurological complications, seemingly overnight.
The reason this happens is that cauda equina syndrome is a very fast-moving condition. It will not cause a fatality, but it can cause permanent disability, sometimes rendering the individual unable to walk again.
Why does cauda equina syndrome cause disability
Such devastating injuries occur because the cauda equina nerves are very sensitive. When someone has cauda equina syndrome, it means that these nerves are being compressed and damaged.
If this compression is not quickly alleviated, the nerves will be injured, resulting in neurological problems. The cauda equina nerves give function and sensation to the pelvic organs, saddle area and lower limbs. Thus when the nerves are damaged, dysfunction will arise across these areas of the body, leading to:
- Urinary dysfunction
- Numbness in the perineum, genitals and buttocks
- Reduced anal tone
- Lower limb weakness
- Chronic lower back pain
These symptoms will persist as long as the nerve compression continues. However, the symptoms will not necessarily disappear once the nerves are decompressed. For some people, the compression will have lasted for such a long time that the nerves are extensively damaged and cannot be repaired.
Once irreparable nerve damage occurs the symptoms mentioned above will be long-term. Evidently this will be incredibly distressing for the patient, who may be left with ongoing mobility problems as well as issues with bowel/bladder/sexual dysfunction.
Why do cauda equina syndrome claims arise?
Cauda equina syndrome claims arise when a patient is left with long-term complications because the nerves were not decompressed quickly enough, and medical practitioners are to blame for this delay.
Medical practitioners might be to blame because they failed to make a diagnosis in a reasonable amount of time, or failed to perform decompression surgery upon an emergency basis.
Whatever the circumstances, if you think you have suffered because medical professionals made mistakes in your cauda equina care, you need to talk to a solicitor who specialises in medical negligence claims.
Contact us today
To make a cauda equina syndrome negligence claim Bristol, please get in touch with us. Our cauda equina solicitors are specialists in this area of litigation and have extensive experience in pursuing cauda equina claims. This makes us well-placed to offer you professional legal advice.