If you are a victim of medical or clinical negligence our highly experienced team of solicitors at Lanyon Bowdler can assist you in the event you wish to complain or seek compensation. For legal advice on making a clinical or medical negligence claim please contact Paula Nash, Head of Clinical Negligence or one of her team on 0800 954 9936.
Neurology is the branch of medicine relating to the diagnosis and treatment of disorders affecting the brain, spine and peripheral nerves in the arms, legs and muscles.
A Neurologist is trained to investigate, diagnose and treat a wide range of neurological disorders including:
• Traumatic brain injury and tumours
• Headaches and migraines
• Epilepsy and seizures
• Memory Problems and disorders of intellect such as Alzheimer’s and forms of dementia
• Stroke and Transient Ischaemic attacks (TIA)
• Facial pain
• Dizziness and blackouts
• Parkinson’s Disease, tremors and disorders affecting movement
• Multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory disorders of the nervous system
• Balance disorders
• Tingling, pins and needles and numbness
• Muscle weakness, pains and cramps
• Sleep disorders
Many Neurologists specialise in one or more of the above disorders. A large area of their work involves neurological examinations and observations such as assessing muscle strength and movement, balance and reflexes, sensation, memory and speech and other cognitive abilities.
Diagnostic tests include CAT (computed axial tomography) scan, MRI/MRA (magnetic resonance imaging/ magnetic resonance angiography), lumbar puncture (spinal tap), EEG (electroencephalography), EMG/NVC (electromyography/nerve conduction velocity). The accuracy of these tests and their reporting is clearly essential to this area of medicine.
Some of the most devastating clinical negligence claims are those involving neurological injury to the brain or spine. The role of the lawyer in acting for an injured person is to understand as soon as possible, the extent of the injury and how it was caused and to involve all the relevant medical and ancillary experts at the earliest opportunity in assessing the injury and to work with them throughout the case.
Many clinical negligence claims in this area involve a failure to diagnose clinically crucial conditions, resulting in the lack of the correct treatment being implemented and catastrophic consequences. The treatment itself could be negligent or the operations negligently performed by neurosurgeons. Occasionally the patient may not have provided what is known as “informed consent” to a surgical procedure, or course of treatment, and can allege that if they had been made fully aware of the risks involved they would not have provided their consent.
The cases we have dealt with include the following:
• Failing to test adequately and consequently misdiagnosing a subarachnoid haemorrhage causing avoidable permanent brain damage
• Failing to adequately manage medication for epilepsy
• Failure to diagnose brain tumour
• Failure to diagnose and treat spinal conditions causing permanent incontinence and disability,
• Failure to identify and treat drug toxicity causing tremors and seizures leading to death
• Failure to manage multiple sclerosis causing exacerbation of disability.
If you or someone you know has suffered from a Neurological disorder and would like legal advice in relation to a potential clinical negligence claim, one of our team would be happy to discuss this with you.
For a free consultation call 0800 954 9936