What Amounts to Cauda Equina Medical Negligence?

If you have been the victim of cauda equina medical negligence, you will be entitled to compensation for the damages you have incurred (physically, emotionally and financially). But what actually amounts to cauda equina medical negligence? When can you make a claim? And how you find out for certain whether or not you are able to pursue legal action?

In this article we take a closer look at these questions, helping you understand more about claiming for Cauda Equina Syndrome.

When can you claim for Cauda Equina Syndrome?

To make a medical negligence claim for Cauda Equina Syndrome, you must be able to prove three things:-

1. That you were owed a duty of care

All medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care. This means they must provide a patient with an acceptable standard of medical treatment while he or she is under their care. Therefore this is not something that needs to be ‘proved’ as such, as a doctor, nurse, dentist or other medical professional is automatically bestowed with this duty.

2. That a breach of duty of took place

If a medical professional fail to provide an acceptable standard of care, he or she will have breached their duty of care. To judge whether or not a breach of duty has indeed taken place, it is necessary to ask the question: did the medical professional(s) provide a level of care that would be considered acceptable by a reasonable body of medical men? If the answer is no (ie. other doctors would have taken a different course of action) then a breach of duty has taken place.

In terms of Cauda Equina Syndrome, a substandard level of medical care may include:-

• Failing to identify the characteristic symptoms of Cauda Equina Syndrome;
• Failing to take steps to make an accurate diagnosis – for example, performing a physical examination and carrying out further tests;
• Failing to correctly analyse test results to make an accurate diagnosis;
• Failing to recognise the need for urgent treatment.

3. A breach of duty caused an injury

After establishing that a breach of duty occurred, it is necessary to prove that this caused a patient to suffer an injury. With cauda equina claims this is usually very easy to ascertain, as any sort of delay can lead to very serious health complications, including urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction, paralysis and long-term pain.

Find out whether you have a medical negligence claim

Put simply, if your Cauda Equina Syndrome was poorly managed by medical professionals and this caused you further suffering, you will be entitled to make a claim. However, things are often a little more complicated than that, so you may be unsure what your legal position is. To find out for certain, you need to speak to a solicitor who specialises in Cauda Equina claims.

Please call us free on 0800 234 3300, from a mobile click to call 01275 334030 or complete our Free Online Enquiry for a no cost, no obligation opinion.

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