Patient Suffers Severe Disability Following Hospital Cauda Equina Syndrome Delay
Having visited her GP with worsening lower back pain radiating to both legs, Gemma was prescribed pain killers and referred for physiotherapy. She was not experiencing any problems with her bladder or bowel at this point.
However, over the coming weeks, her pain increased and she began to experience additional symptoms in the saddle area between the legs and around the buttocks.
Following an appointment with her physiotherapist, she was advised to attend hospital, the physiotherapist noting that Gemma was experiencing buttock numbness and had had difficulty in passing urine at night.
Gemma went to hospital with a letter from the physiotherapist describing her bowel and bladder problems as well as her increasing pain.
At hospital, Gemma underwent an MRI scan. She was not informed of the results but was referred back to her GP.
During the course of Glynns' investigation into the quality of Gemma's medical care, the hospital admitted that, at this point, Gemma's cauda equina compression should have been diagnosed and, had that happened, she would have undergone surgery by the following morning, thereby avoiding her subsequent symptoms.
Unfortunately, this did not happen.
Gemma returned to her GP who made a referral for her to see a neurosurgery specialist three months later.
However, a few weeks later, struggling with worsening pain, Gemma realised that she was no longer able to pass urine.
Unable to get an appointment with her GP for that day, she returned to hospital where, following another MRI scan, she was transferred urgently to another hospital where she underwent decompression surgery.
The delay between Gemma's first and second hospital visits had made a significant difference to her long-term health and well-being. The failure of the medical professionals at the hospital to recognise the significance of her symptoms and the implications of the MRI scan result at the time of her first attendance have utterly altered the course of her life.
The deterioration in her condition between the two hospital visits means that Gemma now struggles with mobility, relying constantly on the use of a stick to support her. She is, not surprisingly, concerned about falling and has to depend on her husband to carry out many of the tasks around the home.
She is also experiencing problems with both bladder and bowel function which cause her not only practical difficulties but have also undermined her confidence and limited the range of activities outside the home which she is able to manage.
Gemma is a young woman and the impact of the medical negligence will last a lifetime.
At the conclusion of her case, Gemma was awarded a seven-figure sum in compensation which recognises the severity of what has happened to her and the many difficulties which she now faces.
(Details which might identify our client have been changed.)
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