Can I Get Compensation for Anal Injury During 1st Delivery?
You do not expect giving birth to your first child to leave you with a lifetime of anal dysfunction. If your long-term disability is due to poor medical care, it may be appropriate to make a claim for compensation.
Severe perineal trauma
Women who are giving birth via the vagina for the first time are particularly susceptible to severe perineal trauma. Severe trauma, in this context, refers to a birth tear which extends beyond the perineum. Third and fourth degree tears, also referred to as obstetric anal sphincter injuries, travel from the vagina, across the perineum, to the anus.
Third degree tears can, according to their specific classification, cause damage to either the external anal muscles alone or to both the external and internal anal sphincter.
Fourth degree tears additionally damage the lining of the anal canal and are considered to be the most severe form of childbirth tear.
Perineal trauma is a risk of vaginal childbirth. Most women suffer a tear of some degree as their baby is born. Of these, approximately 5% experience a severe tear. Given the number of births annually, this amounts to a significant number of women suffering a potentially life-changing injury.
Medical management of severe birth tears
Without prompt and competent diagnosis and treatment, anal sphincter injuries can leave a new mother with a lifetime of bowel problems from urgency to actual incontinence of both wind and faeces.
The occurrence of a severe birth tear may not be considered as negligent. A failure to provide an acceptable standard of care for such an injury, however, may well be.
- Women who have given birth vaginally require a thorough examination including a digital rectal examination where the condition of the anus is assessed. This should lead to the identification of any injury and the correct classification according to the guidelines of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. A failure to correctly identify a severe perineal tear when one has occurred may be regarded as negligent care by the relevant medical professionals.
- Severe birth tears should be repaired in an operating theatre by an experienced surgeon. An incorrect diagnosis may mean that this does not happen. When it does occur, it is imperative that the correct methods of repair are used in accordance with the nature of the injury to avoid a breakdown of the repair.
Claiming compensation
If you are struggling with significant bowel problems following the vaginal birth of your baby, it is possible that you have suffered a severe birth tear which has not been effectively repaired.
Contact Glynns Solicitors to talk to a specialist medical negligence solicitor with expertise in this type of compensation claim.
Please call us on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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