we would like to thank you very much for all your hard work dealing with our case, it was very much appreciated. We were glad that we held out and not took the first offer - it was well worth the wait.

Hospital fails to diagnose cauda equina syndrome

Phillipa was shocked when she very suddenly developed severe back pain, combined with an inability to control her bladder and bowels. Usually very fit and healthy, she called for an ambulance and went to her local Accident and Emergency department. She was discharged home after they carried out an x-ray and reassured her that it was probably just muscle pain.

However, Phillipa’s symptoms continued, and her GP referred her back to hospital and she was diagnosed as suffering from cauda equina syndrome – a relatively rare condition whereby the nerves in the spine become compressed, cutting off the nerve supply.  It is a medical emergency and requires urgent investigation and treatment.

The hospital admitted that they breached their duty of care in failing to carry out an urgent MRI scan when Phillipa presented to the A&E department.  It was alleged that had an MRI scan been carried out, Phillipa could have had urgent surgery to relieve the compression in the nerves and it would have avoided Phillipa’s permanent loss of bladder and bowel control, as well as constant back pain.

The claim settled out of Court and the Trust apologised for their mistakes.

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