Avoidable Cauda Equina Complications

If your cauda equina complications could have been avoided with the appropriate medical care, you could be entitled to claim compensation for the terrible damage this has had on your life.

Avoiding neurological complications

If a patient is suffering the red flag symptoms of cauda equina syndrome and yet does not seek medical attention, doctors cannot be blamed for a delay in treatment. This may occur because the individual is embarrassed, or because he/she does not believe treatment is necessary.

However, what happens if a patient seeks early medical advice and yet is wrongly diagnosed? This does occur quite frequently with cauda equina syndrome, as medical practitioners often fail to detect the early warning signs, instead believing a more minor condition to be at play.

And yet this is not a valid excuse, as steps should be taken to ensure an accurate diagnosis has been obtained. If the test results do not tally with the initial diagnosis, or a patient’s symptoms do not resolve, further investigations should be performed. This should include tests to confirm or rule out the presence of cauda equina syndrome, which should certainly be on a doctor’s list of possible diagnoses.

As long as such urgent action is taken, it will be possible to avoid long-term neurological complications occurring. This is because the condition will be diagnosed and treated before the nerves suffer too much damage. The nerves will therefore be able to recover, and a patient will be able to regain normal function over time.

Delay in diagnosing and treating CES

But if there is a delay, the nerves will become so injured that the cells will die. They will not subsequently regrow, meaning a patient will have reduced function on a permanent basis. This will result in certain neurological problems, including urinary and sexual dysfunction, partial or total paralysis and poor anal tone.

If this is something that has happened to you, you must ask yourself: could these complications have been avoided? This might apply, for example, if doctors had an opportunity to accurately diagnose your condition, and yet failed to do so – either because of a lack of knowledge, or because they decided not to perform the necessary diagnostic tests.

If your cauda equina complications could have been avoided had it not been for medical incompetence, you will be considered the victim of medical negligence. This means that a substandard level of medical care caused you to suffer unnecessary physical and/or emotional injury, for which you deserve to be compensated.

Speak to a solicitor

To speak to a solicitor about claiming compensation for avoidable cauda equina complications, get in touch with us at the Cauda Equina Solicitors today.

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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