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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

My friend thinks i should consider legal advice, what would you do? *PLEASE DONT READ IF YOUR ABOUT TO HAVE A C-SECTION*

32 replies

ManyMonkeys · 19/02/2010 20:04

I had my baby by elective c-section on the 1st of this month, and the spinal anaesthetic was very good to start with, i felt (but with no pain) the first incision but as they cut deeper i felt it more and more until i was in quite abit of pain, by the time they delivered dd it was excruciating, and the spinal was all but worn out half way through the whole thing, i really didnt want to be knocked out so i ended up HIGHLY drugged up and still in alot of pain for the rest of the op, my mum who was with me had to leave and they took my baby away as i was so out of it It was quite an awful experience, and my friend is urging me to see a medical solicitor, but im really quite against this habiit people have of 'suing' everyone for everything, the whole world seems to have gone 'compensation' mad, but even my cousin today said i should do something. What do you think? I think its just 'one of those things' and was no-ones fault......

OP posts:
Original poster
ManyMonkeys · 19/02/2010 20:06

Sorry, that was supposed to say "spinal anaesthetic WASNT very good to start with"

OP posts:
annabelcaramel · 19/02/2010 20:10

It depends what you want to achieve. Do you just want someone to explain/say sorry? Do you want money? Do you want a combination of the two? Or do you want to keep your friend happy? You need to think it through, think what YOU want and then decide the best course of action. Good luck.

wilkos · 19/02/2010 20:13

whether you sue or not the senior people at the hospital NEED to know what happened, don't play it down - this is serious.

get thee a solicitor and start talking to them and go from there, you need an apology at the very least.

i am not a legal person by the way, but my dad died as a result of hospital negligence and although we didnt sue we did gain some comfort from speaking to those in charge of the situation and having them assure us it wouldnt happen to someone else

good luck to you

FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010 · 19/02/2010 20:14

I wouldn't sue.

My section was botched to the point we can't have more children.

My baby is alive though.

MeMySonAndI · 19/02/2010 20:15

Hospitals have departments that specialise in these sort of problems (PALS?). The medical staff is required to report these sort of incidents in order to prevent them happening in the future, but sometimes they just don't.

I would contact the hospital team and set a complain, it is not about getting money but about ensuring nobody else is put through the same mill.

Original poster
ManyMonkeys · 19/02/2010 20:16

Thats just it annabelcaramel - i dont want anything, i have my gorgeous, perfect baby girl safe and well and thats all i care about, but SO many people think i should 'make a claim' and that my experience was awful and it should be looked into at the very least. I have said i didnt feel anyone was to blame really and everyone was so so good to me during the whole thing, id feel awful about 'doing something' - but one person has said im being too soft

OP posts:
Elsewhere · 19/02/2010 20:16

Sounds like you should do something to complain. Get legal advice.

HumphreyCobbler · 19/02/2010 20:17

I would ask for a meeting to discuss what happened, find out why it happened and ensure it doesn't happen to anyone else.

Original poster
ManyMonkeys · 19/02/2010 20:19

Sorry, took me ages to type that last post lol - have baby in one arm

OP posts:
Fleegle · 19/02/2010 20:20

Did they offer you a general anaesthetic, when it was clear the spinal wasn't effective? That would be usual procedure.

thisisyesterday · 19/02/2010 20:20

i agree, it's one of those things. they had no reason to believe, when they started cutting that it hadn't worked very effectively. as you say, you could feel it but it wasn't painful.

as they got deeper it became apparent that it hadn't worked, so they took steps to remedy that, by giving you more drugs as you didn't want a GA

it seems to me they did all they could. and yes, it meant a not very nice experience for you, but I don't think that they did anything "wrong"

I do think it'd be worth you contacting PALS or someone though, just to talk through it

TubbyDuffs · 19/02/2010 20:21

Even if you don't want compensation, you should definitely bring it to the necessary body's attention, as you wouldn't want anybody else to go through this.

I hope you manage to put it behind you soon and enjoy your baby... what a horrible start.

annabelcaramel · 19/02/2010 20:21

I think you've answered your own question. If the desire in you isn't strong enough to do something without asking us lot, maybe the right thing for you is to just move on. Tell your friend thank you for her concern, then get on with your life. Litigation can take over your life - let your baby do that instead!

splatt · 19/02/2010 20:24

As an anaesthetist I'm sorry to hear you had such a horrible experience at what should be such a joyous time. It sounds like you need to speak with someone from the department to go through what happened. I would suggest you speak to the PALS service at your hospital. They will liase with the anaesthetic department and arrange for you to have an appointment to talk things through.

Unfortuantely these things do, rarely, happen, and the only option at that point (once the operation has started) if the spinal isn't sufficient is to give a general anaesthetic. If you didn't wish this then you leave the anaesthetist with little option but to try to manage it with pain killers and sedative drugs.

I do think you should look to talk to someone about this.

CarGirl · 19/02/2010 20:26

Put in a formal complaint and see it through to ensure that their procedures are adequate and the staff are properly trained/qualified etc.

No I wouldn't sue because you're not traumatised and it hasn't adversely affected your life, you haven't needed any extra help or anything due to it. I think you have up to 3 years to start action against them for compensation so if you do end up completely traumatised during that time you could then sue IYSWIM.

Congratulations on your baby btw.

shonaspurtle · 19/02/2010 20:32

This happened to my friend. Looking into it she discovered that it is, unfortunately, something that happens.

She also refused a GA, but feels in retrospect that she wasn't really able to make that decision in an informed way and they should just have knocked her out or asked her dh to make the decision. I suspect that they couldn't bypass her stated wishes at the time though.

She found it very, very helpful to have a debriefing after the birth where she went through her notes with a midwife.

Lulumama · 19/02/2010 20:37

agree with pretty much the general consensus, it sounds like it was 'one of those things' one fo the things you are told about, or sometimes hear about, presyume all the checks were done prior to the incision to check your numbness etc..definitely make a compliant so it is taken seriosuly . however, you did refuse a GA when it was offered. not a lot more that could have been done really. it is horrific , but if you are not suffering and are ok about it, what will suing do? it is doubtful you would receive much and it would take you years. but definitely complain

morningpaper · 19/02/2010 20:38

Sounds very traumatic but not sure what you think they should have done differently?

Unfortunately anaesthesia can be more of an art than a science

abdnhiker · 19/02/2010 20:39

My family had a meeting with hospital administrators after some potential mistakes that occurred during my grandmother's treatment and may have hastened her death. We didn't want to sue, we believe that mistakes happen and that no one was at fault, but did want to be reassured that everything was looked at carefully. I think the key is to be clear that you're not looking to sue - that forces hospitals to be defensive and means you wont get anywhere.

LittleSilver · 19/02/2010 21:11

Shona, your friend's DH, would NOT have been able to make a decision on her behalf, not within the UK anyway.

mummytopebs · 19/02/2010 21:53

I to am faced with the same decision. I am still going through the pain of a botched c section and have possible retained products and every doctor i see at the hospital has given me conflicting advice. I have started the complaints procedure with pals as i am so angry. I to thopught about legal advice but am waiting to see the outcome of whatever they finally decide to do before deciding if i persue it or not.

kitstwins · 20/02/2010 11:25

I'm not sure what you would get from a medical solicitor unless you wanted financial recompense for the trauma of your experience. Technically, the 'consent form' you would have signed before they did the caesarean outlines all the risks with caesarean surgery. They're small risks but they do occur and you were obviously one of the very unlucky ones. Unless they failed to make you sign the form beforehand then legally I think there would be little you could do about it. It's for precisely this reason that they make you sign the form - it seems like due process (I remember thinking "Yes, yes, just get on with it as OBVIOUSLY it wasn't going to happen to me...) but it isn't.

I'm really sorry you had an awful time. I can sympathise as my epidural was botched (they pushed the needle in too far and ruptured my dural membrane, which isn't great news) and then my spinal didn't work. I couldn't move my legs but I could feel things on my stomach and so felt them start the operation. The only recourse for me was a general anaesthetic which was bloody awful as I missed the birth of my twins after a horrible month in hospital beforhand with bleeding, early labour, etc. It sounds like tthey gave you the option of a general anaesethic which you (understandably) turned down - I think I would have too if that option had been open to me as it would have seemed preferable to missing the birth). However, if you were given the option of a GA and therefore avoiding the pain of dimishing spinal, then I think it would hard tto argue from a legal standpoint that they'd been negligent, especially when you factor in the fact that you signed a consent form also.

I would really recommend getting some help to process what happened to you but I think there are better avenues than a medical solicitor. You can ask to speak to your PALS (patient liason) unit at your hospital to arrange a debrief of your notes. I got a lot of comfort in finding out what happened and why - it helped outline that I was just one of the (very) unlucky ones; a small print statistic if you like and that it was just my 'day' and bad luck. Nothing I'd done wrong and there was nothing I could do to change it or influence it otherwise. There's also options for counselling if you're struggling with processing of it - CBT helped me hugely.

At the end, unless it was medical bungling and you want to 'teach the hospital a lesson' i.e. hit them where it hurts with a financial lawsuit so that the impact is big enough that they implement changes, then legal recourse seems to be not much more than litigation for the sake of financial reward. If you feel that they followed due medical process, outlined the risks (and you signed the consent form before the operation) then don't think the legal route is the right choice.

Hope this helps. As I said, I'm really sorry you went through this as I know how grim it is.

I hope this helps.

MrsMargate · 20/02/2010 11:35

It may well have been 'one of those things' but what if it wasn't? I think it's important to get to the bottom of this, if not for you, then for the women after you.

I'm not suggesting suing, but making sure you get a definitive answer and, if mistakes were made, ensuring they don't reoccur.

Imagine if you're the tenth woman this has happened to - don't you wish the first woman had asked questions?

Highlander · 20/02/2010 11:35

mine wore off with DS2, but it wasn't too bad. Bonus was that I was completely mobile by the time I left recovery

baby1onway · 20/02/2010 14:17

this is a bit different but after pushing my son out i had to have stitches so he gave me a Local A but i still felt every little bit and it still haunts me now i even shouted at the doctor told him i could feel it but he muttered something in his own language and carried on.i feel for you, i'd complain but probably not sue. shudder

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