Brain Haemorrhage Solicitor - Medical Negligence Compensation Claims

Over 8,000 people in the UK suffer from a brain haemorrhage every year and about 75% of them are due to the rupture of a weak blood vessel, known as a brain aneurism, caused by a slight increase in blood pressure. This often occurs as a result of sudden physical exercise in an individual, the most vulnerable of who are elderly smokers although this injury can occur in any individual of any age and lifestyle. When this happens blood suddenly bursts into the adjoining tissue which causes a rise in pressure within the skull often accompanied by a severe headache however in some cases the sufferer becomes unconscious in a short time. The prognosis for this condition is not generally good with a large number of people failing to survive more than a few days however in less severe cases a surgical repair can be carried out to the blood vessels provided that the condition is urgently and accurately diagnosed. A brain haemorrhage is a medical emergency with misdiagnosis of this condition frequently resulting in severe injury or death. Misdiagnosis of brain haemorrhage is regularly considered by medical negligence solicitors and often results in a compensation claim.

Brain Haemorrhage Red Flag Symptoms

Most people who suffer from a brain haemorrhage have the warning sign of a headache, the severity of which they have never suffered before and as a result many visit their general practitioner or the accident and emergency department of the local hospital. It is here that most danger lies as this condition is often not recognised and the victim is sent home with analgesics only to be admitted unconscious a few hours later which in many cases is too late to prevent severe brain damage or death. In this case the examining doctor may have been negligent for failing to recognise the signs and symptoms of a ruptured brain aneurism which can result in a successful claim for medical negligence compensation.

Potential Fatal Consequences

Most people who have a brain aneurism do not know about it and even if they did know it would be unlikely to warrant preventative surgery. There are several different types of brain haemorrhage known as sub-arachnoid, extra-dural and sub-dural all of which can have fatal consequences if they are not adequately and urgently treated.

Brain Haemorrhage Treatment

Treatment usually consists of surgery whereby the skull is opened and the ruptured blood vessels are clipped. This treatment is difficult work and it must be carried out by a skilled surgeon. Failure by the consultant to exercise a reasonable degree of skill and care can result in further injury or death to the patient. In these cases a clinical negligence compensation claim can often be pursued against the surgeon carrying out the repair.

Negligence

Medical negligence law is a technical field determined by both statute and case law and its practitioners need to have specialist knowledge. Medical negligence law has a broad scope which covers a wide range of clinical practice. Claims are made by medical negligence solicitors against hospitals, doctors, nurses, technical staff and general practitioners. Medical negligence law is designed not only to compensate but to also be preventative so that these accidents and mistakes are limited as far as is reasonably possible. The potential financial penalties for allowing unskilled or overworked staff to practice is prohibitive and strongly encourages management positions to only employ properly trained and experienced medical professionals.

Skill & Care

Current medical negligence law is such that a healthcare professional in Leeds is required to use the same skill and care as other similar professionals working in the same geographic area. The exact legal test requires that they act "in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical men skilled in that particular art". This implies that where a different method of treatment is supported by a significant number of other healthcare practitioners then it will not be negligent if that alternative treatment is used which subsequently fails. The final proviso on this topic is that the judges have determined that whichever treatment is used it must stand up to logical analysis.

Causation

Once negligence has been proved medical negligence law requires that it must thereafter be shown that personal injury was sustained as a direct result of that treatment or that a cure was not effected which would have been, had an acceptable method of treatment been used. This is not always an easy task and relies on expert advice from professionally qualified witnesses.

Informed Consent

When a patient is to undergo any clinical procedure it is a legal requirement under current medical negligence law that a healthcare professional explains the procedure in detail and thereafter obtains written permission to carry out that procedure. In cases where consent is obtained improperly or where no consent was obtained, except in the case of emergency, it can be grounds not only for a civil claim for damages but may also lead to a criminal charge of assault.

Time Limits

Medical negligence law includes The Limitation Act 1980 which requires that most personal injury claims must be settled or legal proceedings must have been issued within three years of knowledge of the injury. Judges have a wide discretion to extend or suspend the time qualification and there are exceptions for minors and the mentally handicapped.

Medical Negligence Solicitors Legal Advice

If you have suffered personal injury and you fear you may have been the victim of incompetence or negligence then there is no time for delay. In order to know what options you have you should seek expert legal advice as soon as possible. Our solicitors operate a service whereby you can meet us in person or chat over the telephone with one of our experts and obtain initial advice. If you subsequently decide to proceed no further then that is your right and you will not be charged for our initial advice.

The author of the substantive medical writing on this website is Dr. Christine Traxler MD whose biography can be read here