Compensation for a Colostomy Due to Negligent Maternity Care
If negligent maternity care has left you with a stoma and affected your ability to work, you may be able to make a claim for compensation. Contact Glynns today to talk to a specialist solicitor.
Negligent care of severe birth damage
The notion that vaginal childbirth could leave a woman requiring a colostomy seems difficult to believe but a severe birth tear can do just that. If medical professionals attendant at a birth fail to carry out the examinations necessary to diagnose such a severe injury, they may be regarded as having provided negligent care.
Around 5% of women in the UK giving birth through the vagina, as opposed to through caesarean section, suffer a severe birth tear. Such injuries are referred to as 3rd and 4th degree tears or OASI (obstetric anal sphincter injuries) and they damage the anal muscles which control bowel function. Women giving birth for the first time or those who require instrumental assistance are at a higher risk.
A 4th degree tear additionally causes damage to the lining of the anal canal and, if this injury remains undiagnosed and unrepaired, it can lead to a fistula or hole between the rectum and the vagina.
If bowel function is severely compromised by the injury, the woman may be advised to undergo a colostomy and the fitting of a stoma bag to provide bowel function. It is a rare outcome, but it does happen and can turn a woman's life upside-down.
Coping with a stoma
The impact of such an appalling outcome from vaginal childbirth can be both practically and psychologically devastating, destroying a woman's self-confidence and leaving her isolated and depressed. The practical consequences can restrict her ability to work, both in terms of the nature of her employment and the hours she may be able to do.
Trying to cope with caring for a baby at the same time as coming to terms with a severe and unexpected injury can be overwhelming. A successful claim for compensation can help the woman to feel that justice has been done and that she will be able to address some of the difficulties she now faces.
Claiming compensation
If you are struggling with the shocking outcome of needing a colostomy due to poor-quality maternity care, contact us here at Glynns for specialist legal advice. Our solicitors are all experts in medical negligence law and will be able to advise you as to the best way forward.
Please call us on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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