If the treatment for your cauda equina syndrome did not meet an acceptable standard of care, you will be considered the victim of medical negligence. You will therefore be entitled to claim compensation for the pain and suffering this has caused you. Contact a solicitor who specialises in cauda equina claims to find out more.
What amounts to cauda equina negligence?
Cauda equina syndrome must be treated with urgent decompression surgery. This must be performed within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, or a patient will almost certainly be left with long term complications. These can include urinary incontinence and chronic back pain.
Evidently the potential consequences of a delay in treatment are serious and life-changing. But unfortunately there are often delays in the treatment of cauda equina syndrome.
Sometimes this will be because the patient did not seek medical attention in time, either believing their symptoms did not warrant urgent medical intervention, or feeling embarrassed about the nature of their condition.
Other times, however, a delay in treatment will be entirely the fault of medical professionals. Indeed, there are occasions when a patient attends their GP or nearest hospital with the red flag symptoms of cauda equina syndrome, and yet they are wrongly diagnosed and sent home. Most commonly, someone will be told they have a urinary tract infection and put on antibiotics.
If this medical error leads to a significant delay in the diagnosis and treatment of cauda equina syndrome, there will be a case of medical negligence.
Can you make a cauda equina claim?
If your decompression surgery was delayed because doctors failed to recognise cauda equina syndrome – and yet they had the opportunity to make an accurate diagnosis – you will be considered the victim of medical negligence. This means that a substandard level of medical care has caused you to suffer injuries that could otherwise have been avoided, had medical error not been at play.
As the victim of medical negligence, you will be entitled to pursue a cauda equina claim against the GP and/or hospital responsible for your current complications. This will allow you to obtain compensation for the pain and suffering you have wrongfully experienced, and the financial losses you have incurred.
Get expert legal advice
If you would like to talk to a solicitor about making a cauda equina claim, get in touch with us today. At the Cauda Equina Solicitors we have a specialist team of lawyers who are ready to offer you free legal advice.