Settlement against NHS trust following delayed diagnosis of Cauda Equina Syndrome

Our clinical negligence team in Cambridge has settled a claim for delayed diagnosis and treatment of Cauda Equina Syndrome, which left our client with life altering injuries.

She attended the A&E department at an NHS trust in December 2014 with severe back pain, urinary incontinence and perianal numbness and was assessed by a junior doctor who failed to note her incontinence or that she had developed numbness. Our client was admitted for pain relief and was reviewed the following morning. When her symptoms worsened, an urgent MRI scan was performed which revealed compression of the Cauda Equina. She was then transferred for emergency surgery at another hospital.

Due to the delay in surgery, our client was left with serious injuries including bladder and bowel incontinence.

The defendant trust admitted that our client should have had an earlier MRI scan and surgery. The trust also admitted that earlier surgery would have improved her outcome, but the degree of that improvement was disputed.

Settlement was reached at a joint settlement meeting. The compensation award included funds to allow our client to purchase single-storey accommodation and to cover her future loss of earnings as it was determined that she would be at a disadvantage in the open labour market.

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