Would I have a claim for medical negligence?

[GabbyChalice400]

Hi, not sure if this board gets much traffic, but I need other opinions as to whether or not i potentially have a claim for medical negligence.

A colleague who previously worked in a medical negligence said it might be worth looking into but I'm not sure.

Anyway, I have had complications a few months after having 2 epidurals and a spinal during labour (ended in c section). Total numbness on the outer side of my right thigh and some bowel incontinence for about 4 months. Have been referred for a spinal assessment by my GP as I've been with the same problem twice now.

Epidural only worked on one side of my body (the numb side now) as anaesthetists noticed after admini

@timshelthechoice how is it sickening. She thinks medical professionals may have done her harm through their negligence. If this was the case (very well may have been) then they should be punished and she compensated. Medical professionals have a duty of care for their patients, negligence is never acceptable.

It seems so unfair that I'm left in so much pain. My gut instinct tells me something went wrong. I was perfectly healthy before this happened.

I thought one of the risks of a c section was incontinence. I think you'd have difficulty proving your epidural caused these problems. I had an epidural that went wrong, I can understand your pain but proving negligence is hard.

My dc experienced medial negligence, we went through PALS, who then carried out necessary investigations, then a report, then meetings about what happened. When we saw solicitors after all of that, that was all needed and if we hadn't done it, they would have needed us to. It's taken 2.5 years for us to get to the end of the process. He nearly died and suffered serious consequences (proven through the SIR).

My GP believes what I'm experiencing now is a direct result of epidural

@GabbyChalice400 no one on the internet can tell you whether or not you have a claim, but clearly you have questions that you need answered. If I was you, my first step would be to contact PALS at the hospital where you had your treatment and explain your concerns to them. They will investigate and respond to your concerns. If you remain unhappy, you could then consider instructing a lawyer. Medical negligence claims are complicated and can take a long time to resolve, although I do not say this to put you off - you are absolutely entitled to consider a claim if that is you wish.

When did the events happen?

@HDready Sorry, what's PALS? This happened back in April btw

@GabbyChalice400 sorry, it’s the patient advice and liaison service. Every hospital in England has them. If you go onto the website for the hospital, you will find their contact details. You can usually ring or send an email.

I asked when it happened because the general rule is that you have three years after an event to bring a medical negligence claim, so you have time to consider your options.

Good luck. I hope you get the answers that you need.

Instead of suing them to start with, email the hospital and ask your questions and for a copy of your records. They might have the answers!

Your GP is probably so confident that the epidural caused your issues because they are known risks of epidural. But, those risks are generally small. In 2009, an audit was done of epidural and spinal injections and the results were:
Estimated frequency (cases per spinal/
epidural injection):
The risk of damage to nerves is between
1 in 1,000 and 1 in 100,000.
In many of these cases the symptoms
improve or resolve within a few weeks or
months.
The risk of longer lasting problems is
Permanent harm
1 in 23,500 to 50,500
Paraplegia or death
1 in 54,500 to 1 in 141,500

That's not comforting when you are possibly the one, but it does show that complications do happen sometimes.