Doctor Missed My Cauda Equina Symptoms
If you attend the GP or Accident and Emergency with lower back and leg pain, you may be diagnosed with sciatica and sent home with pain relief.
If the medical professional does not ask about or examine you for other symptoms, however, you may in fact be developing cauda equina syndrome. A delay in diagnosing this condition can leave the patient with permanent and distressing disability.
Cauda equina syndrome red flag symptoms
If a patient is developing cauda equina syndrome, they may be experiencing some or all of the following symptoms:
- Pain, tingling or numbness in both legs
- Tingling or numbness in the saddle area between the legs
- Alteration in sexual function and sensation
- Difficulty in starting to urinate
- Poor flow when urinating
- Difficulty in fully emptying the bladder
- Numbness around the anus
- Foot drop, or dragging of a foot
- Bowel or bladder incontinence
- Loss of awareness of needing to urinate
If your medical professional does not test for these symptoms or fails to recognise their significance, you may not get the referral you need.
Diagnosing cauda equina syndrome
A patient who has early or incomplete cauda equina syndrome is a medical emergency. Once their condition is confirmed through an MRI scan, they may need surgery within a matter of hours.
If diagnosis and surgery are delayed, it is possible that the patient's condition will deteriorate and the impact of surgery may then be far less beneficial than would have been the case if they had received their diagnosis earlier.
It is absolutely fundamental, therefore, that a patient who has possible early symptoms of this shocking condition undergoes a thorough examination.
Medical negligence
If your GP or other medical practitioner failed to consider or even identify your bladder or saddle symptoms, they may be regarded as having been negligent.
If you suffered a poor long-term outcome due to their failure to consider your CES symptoms, it may be appropriate to make a claim for compensation. For example, you may now be suffering from reduced mobility and significant bowel or bladder problems, limiting your capacity to work.
Speak to a solicitor
If you or a loved one are suffering the appalling effects of cauda equina syndrome because your doctor failed to consider your symptoms, you should seek legal advice.
Here at Glynns we have supported numerous clients in achieving high levels of compensation for the failures relating to the medical management of their cauda equina syndrome.
Please call us on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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