Carly Saxon-Garnett
Senior Associate Solicitor, Medical Negligence
English
Damaging your bowel or bladder can significantly impact your quality of life and can seriously impact your physical and mental wellbeing. You shouldn’t have to suffer if your condition was caused by someone else’s actions, or through medical negligence, which is why our expert solicitors are here to help you claim compensation.
We know you might find your symptoms difficult to talk about, but our lawyers have years of experience helping people make bowel and bladder injury claims and we’ll provide you with a safe space to discuss what you’re going through. Bowel/bladder damage can be very hard to cope with, causing:
Bowel and bladder injuries can also limit your ability to work, causing you financial problems. Compensation can help you recover loss of earnings, and will also take into account all the ways your life has been affected. You may be unable to take part in hobbies, social events or exercise in the way you did before, so our dedicated lawyers are here to help you access these enjoyable parts of life again.
Get in touch today for a Free Case Assessment to see how we could help you claim compensation – we may be able to deal with your claim on a No Win, No Fee basis.
Our team are not only experts, but kind and compassionate people who want the best outcome for you. We’ll find out about how your bowel/bladder damage was caused and the impact it’s having on your life, and give you expert guidance and reassurance every step of the way.
Bowel and bladder damage is more common than you might think and there are many ways it can be caused, whether you sustained injuries at work, in a road accident, or your condition was caused/worsened by medical negligence.
To claim compensation, we must be able to prove that your injury was caused, at least in part, by someone else’s actions or negligence. If you’re not sure whether someone else can be legally held responsible, simply get in touch with us for a Free Case Assessment and we’ll let you know if you can make a claim.
See below for some example scenarios that can cause bladder/bowel damage, which we could help you claim compensation for.
Surgical errors can cause serious bowel or bladder damage, whether you were getting surgery on your bowel/bladder, or your organs were affected during a different type of surgery. Medical negligence can also happen in the recovery period following surgery. For example:
The exact amount of compensation you could receive will depend on your circumstances, but we have achieved hundreds of thousands of pounds for people suffering with the damaging effects of bowel/damage injury.
Your compensation will be split between general damages and special damages:
Here are some examples of general damages that have been secured by people suffering with bowel/bladder conditions, though it’s important to remember these are guidelines so the amount will vary from person to person.
|
Judicial College Guidelines |
Average amount of general damages |
|
Cases involving double incontinence (loss of both bowel and urinary function), with other medical complications |
Up to £184,200 |
|
Total loss of natural function and dependence on colostomy |
Up to £150,110 |
|
Faecal urgency and incontinence, typically following childbirth injuries |
Around £79,920 |
|
Severe abdominal injury causing impaired function, temporary colostomy and/or restriction on employment/diet |
£44,590 to £69,730 |
|
Injuries causing some permanent damage but with eventual return to natural function/control |
£12,590 to £24,480 |
Our specialist team of Medical Negligence Solicitors can help you rebuild your life if you’ve been impacted by a surgical error.
We know these cases can be extremely complex and distressing, but our legal experts will give you their specialist help and the empathy you need. Every case is different so we’ll always take your exact needs into account when valuing your claim.
We have some of the best Personal Injury lawyers in the UK and we’re proud members of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)
We’ll speak to you in plain English so you’ll always know what’s going on with your claim. We can visit you at home (in England or Wales) or the hospital, and can talk to you via email, phone or video call.
We’re here to get you the help you need during tough times, and we have charity links with MASIC (who support women with birth injuries) and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Here’s what to expect once you get in touch with us about your claim.
Our friendly experts will talk you through any key information you need to know. This might be the NHS complaints procedure if it’s relevant to your case.
We’ll start to collect evidence to prove that your injury, illness or complication happened because of someone’s actions or negligence, whether this was a GP, the hospital, your employer or another road user.
We’ll consult independent medical experts to assess whether your care was substandard and caused avoidable harm if you experienced medical negligence, or to see how severe your injuries are if you were injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault.
We try to intervene early if we think you would benefit from urgent care or if you’re struggling financially. Sometimes we can ask the other party to pay part of your compensation early (interim payments) if they admit responsibility before your claim is settled.
Using the evidence and our expertise, we’ll work towards the maximum compensation and get this to you as soon as possible.
Fortunately, most of these types of claims do not go to Court, but if this happens we will support you all the way.
We have helped hundreds of people achieve significant amounts of compensation for bowel/bladder damage in a range of scenarios. Here are just a few examples where we’ve made a huge difference to people’s lives.
Andy worked in a steel company for 20 years until 2001. Twelve years later, he was sadly diagnosed with bladder cancer. See how we were able to secure £20,000 in compensation for him, after he made a claim against his former employer.
Our client, a man in his 70s, visited his GP to complain of a number of symptoms and was referred to hospital under the 2-week suspected cancer referral rule. He underwent an ultrasound scan, which revealed there was a high chance of a bladder tumour. However, no further action was taken.
Our client had a routine operation to have polyps removed from his bowel. However, his bowel was damaged during the procedure, with part of it breaking down and forming a perforation (a hole).
You might be worried about how much a medical negligence claim might cost you, given everything you may have already been through. However, you can speak to our team to see if you could fund your case through a No Win, No Fee agreement. This means you won’t pay any legal fees if your medical negligence claim is unsuccessful.
We pride ourselves on being open, so you’ll always be aware of what the final bill could be at the end of the process, and there’s no obligation to go forward once you get in touch for a Free Case assessment.
There is usually a 3 year limit to make a claim for bowel/bladder damage. This is either 3 years from the date the accident or medical negligence took place, or 3 years from the day your injury/condition was first discovered or diagnosed.
You have until your child’s 18th birthday to make a claim on their behalf. After this, your child can make a claim for themselves and they have until their 21st birthday to do so.
If you’re claiming on behalf of someone else who does not have the capacity to make a decision for themselves, no time limit applies for starting a claim. For example, you may be making a claim on behalf of a family member with dementia, or your child with a disability.
The law around this can be complex, so try to contact our legal experts as soon as possible and we can help you get clear on the next steps. Acting early will help us gather the accurate evidence needed to prove your case and get the best outcome for you. It could also get you the financial and medical support you need sooner.
Yes, if you received private healthcare or surgery and experienced medical negligence, our lawyers have a track record achieving significant amounts of compensation from private healthcare organisations, as well as the NHS.
It’s important that lessons are learned when mistakes and oversights happen, and making a claim for compensation can help work towards improvements in the processes involved. It can also help to hold the organisations accountable and help you to achieve a sense of justice after what you’ve been through.
Our specialised lawyers will work extremely hard to make sure you get the compensation you deserve to help you move forward after your bowel/bladder damage or late diagnosis.
Compensation will take into account the pain and suffering you’ve experienced as well as the impact your injury has had on your mental health. We know bowel/bladder conditions can be extremely debilitating and embarrassing, and can have many knock-on effects on your life. Compensation can also help you pay for:
Our experts will find out everything they can about your situation and could even make recommendations on support you could access that you haven’t even considered yourself.
Don’t worry about having all the information to hand when you first contact us, as we’ll let you know exactly what evidence we need and it’s our job to source this. However, to help us work towards the best compensation for you, it can help us if you keep:
Yes – however your child sustained bowel/bladder damage, whether it was from a car accident or a surgical error, we can help you claim compensation on behalf of them.
You can do this at any point until they turn 18, at which point they will have until their 21st birthday to make a claim themselves. We can help you set up a trust fund for your child and explain the legal process around this.
Sadly, bowel and bladder damage can be serious and life-threatening, so you may have had a loved one who passed away as a result of their illness. This can be heartbreaking, and even more devastating if you believe something could’ve been done to prevent their death. We know that taking legal action may not be your first thought after losing your loved one, but we are here every step of the way to provide no-obligation legal advice.
You’ve got 3 years from the date they passed away to start a claim on behalf of their estate, and we will take things at your pace.
If your loved one was exposed to harmful chemicals as part of their job and sadly developed bowel cancer, you may be wondering if you can make a claim if they were exposed to substances years ago. This is possible and we have years of experience helping family members make claims after the death of their loved ones, even if their spouse or relative’s former workplace is no longer trading. Simply get in touch with our Industrial Disease lawyers and we’ll talk you through how to make a claim.
If you’re making a claim for medical negligence, you may be reassured to know that your compensation won’t come directly out of the NHS’s budget, and is unlikely to do the same for private healthcare companies. These companies usually have a dedicated budget to deal with all medical negligence claims directly.
If you’re making a claim for a personal injury that led to your bowel/bladder damage, the person/organisation who pays your compensation will depend on the situation. If you’re making a claim against your employer, they must legally have a insurance company in place who will pay your compensation. If you’re claiming compensation against another road user, they should have insurance that will cover the cost of this.
We will only take on your claim if we know you have a good chance of securing compensation. Even if you were partly at fault for the bowel/bladder damage, e.g. because of your actions in a Road Traffic Accident, we can still help you claim compensation, you just may have to accept a smaller amount.
If the other party, e.g. the NHS, do not accept responsibility at all, we may need to go to Court to negotiate a final settlement, but thankfully this does not happen very often.
Fill in the form below to get in touch with one of our dedicated team members, or call our team today on: 0808 239 6043
