Cauda Equina Syndrome - Medical Negligence Solicitors - CES

The compensation awarded followinf legal action by cauda equina syndrome medical negligence solicitors for improper diagnosis or incompetant treatment of CES can be substantial especially in younger victims due to the potential for catastrophic or serious injury resulting in reduction of earning capacity for the foreseeable future in addition to damages for pain and suffering.

This area of the law can be technical and complex and to succeed in receiving damages it is essential that you obtain legal advice from a cauda equina syndrome medical negligence solicitor. If you would like advice at no cost just complete the contact form and a personal injury solicitor will review your information and phone you immediately with no charge and with no obligation.

Our cauda equina syndrome medical negligence solicitors have offices situated in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Darwin, and Sydney.
Do yourself justice - give us a call.

Cauda Equina Syndrome most commonly results from a prolapsed disc pressing onto the nerves at the base of the spine. Irreparable nerve damage can be caused if the condition is not treated quickly. Surgical intervention by a competent neurosurgeon should, in appropriate cases, occur at the first possible opportunity to prevent long term damage. If you think that your condition has worsened as a result of medical negligence, contact our cauda equina syndrome medical negligence solicitors for advice at no cost.

Delayed Diagnosis & Negligent Surgery

Medical negligence claims usually arise as a result of delay in diagnosis or negligent surgery rendering the condition untreatable and leaving considerable discomfort and disability which can in the most serious cases include paraplegia. This problem is caused when pressure is exerted on the bundle of nerve fibres at the base of the spinal column which radiate out to the legs and lower areas of the abdomen. Pressure on these nerves causes pain, sensory loss in the sacral region, weakness in the legs and loss of bladder control which can be confirmed by diagnostic techniques including MRI scan, Myelography and CAT scans. Prolapsed discs are common and 2% of lumbar disc protrusions result in pressure on the nerves. The surgical treatment of an acute nerve compression is usually regarded as a medical emergency due to the potential for serious permanent damage if treatment is delayed. Our cauda equina solicitors have great experience in dealing with spinal cord injury compensation claims.

Medical Negligence Solicitors

Our specialist medical negligence solicitors can help if you have suffered an injury or any type of financial loss because of another persons errors. Damages are intended to put the aggrieved victim back into the position that they would have been had the personal injury not occurred and our cauda equina solicitors can help to achieve that goal.

Our specialist medical negligence lawyers operate exclusively using the no win no fee scheme. No legal charge is payable unless the litigation is won and the client obtains an award of compensation. In the event that the legal claim is lost there is no charge made to the client.

A personal injury lawyer�s main function is to look at the factors that surround your loss or injury and then give an opinion with regards to your chances of successfully making a claim. When your case is accepted the next step in the process is to quantify your loss and then devise an action plan. While the main items of the claim may be clear many people fail to realise that there are other less obvious losses that can be included in the claim which is where the skills of an expert cauda equina solicitor come in to ensure that you are fully compensated for every aspect of your potential claim. If you try to make your claim unrepresented there is a real danger that the insurers, whose only true responsibility is to their shareholders, will attempt to settle your claim directly with you at well below a realistic market value.

Negligence

There are many definitions of this concept and the law of negligence has never been formally reduced to statutory definitions. Such definitions as there are have usually been stated by judges in the course of high profile personal injury cases usually in the court of appeal. The proposition may best be defined in any particular situation as 'failing to do what a reasonable person would do or doing what a reasonable person would not do'. The most important part of any definition of this concept always revolves around the word 'reasonable'.

The law of negligence relies on three basic propositions and in order to succeed in personal injury cases claimants must show the following elements :-

    Duty of Care
    This means that the victim must be owed a duty of care by the third party. Again this is a difficult concept however it is best explained by example :-

    • all road users owe other road users a duty of care
    • healthcare practitioners owe their patients a duty of care
    • the owners of property owe guests a duty of care

    Breach of the duty of care
    Means that the third party has failed to take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions that will cause harm to the victim.

    Causation
    It is necessary to prove that the act or omission by the third party actually caused the harm complained of by the victim.

    Damage
    Proof is needed that the victim has actually suffered harm by way of loss, damage or injury as a result of the behaviour of the third party.

Damages & Compensation & Legal Costs

Once the law of negligence has been used to establish liability most personal injury cases move on to an assessment of the award of damages. For the sake of convenience lawyers divide compensation that may be payable to the victim into several classes :-

    General Damages
    Represents compensation for the value of items that are difficult to calculate on a strict mathematical basis and require a degree of assessment.

    Special Damages
    Represents compensation for items that can be calculated with a reasobnable degree of mathematical certainty and do not require assessment.

    Future Losses
    This item is often not included in either of the two previous categories as it often has characteristics of both.

    Interest
    Is awarded on all categories of compensation but at different rates and for different periods dependent on the specific item.

Legal costs are usually awarded in favour of the winning side. The lawyers for the claimant in most accident claims insure the claimant against the possibility of losing the case and are thereby able to offer a risk free service. We operate the no win no fee scheme otherwise known as a conditional fee agreement. No legal charge is payable unless the legal case is won and the client obtains an award of compensation. In the event that the legal claim is lost there is no charge made to the client.

HELPLINE: ☎ 1800 633 634

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