BRAIN ANEURYSM : SUBARACHNOID HEMORRHAGE

A brain aneurysm is a weak bulging area in a cerebral artery caused by continuous wear and tear on the blood vessel walls which may lead to a rupture and subsequent bleeding. The bleed often, though not always, happens at a time of physical effort such as coughing, going to the toilet, heavy lifting or straining or during sex. There are many contributing factors which include smoking, hypertension and traumatic head injury. The condition may show hereditary tendencies and is associated with Ehler’s Syndrome, Polycystic Kidney Disease, and Mar fan’s Syndrome. Approximately 2,000,000 people in the United States have this condition which leads to 30,000 people suffering from a subarachnoid hemorrhage each year. The symptoms of a ruptured brain aneurysm include:

• severe localized headache
• fits
• collapse and unconsciousness
• stiff neck or neck pain
• nausea and vomiting
• blurred vision or double vision
• dilated pupils
• pain above and behind the eye
• loss of sensation
• sensitivity to light

Most people who suffer from the symptoms of a subarachnoid hemorrhage are usually taken to the accident room of their local hospital however diagnosis is not always straightforward and patients are frequently sent home without further treatment only to become the victim of a damaging or fatal bleed some hours later. Emergency room doctors should be aware of the warning signs that precede a major bleed in the brain and should not ignore relatively minor symptoms which occur in about 50% of all patients. Failure to recognize the warning signs and give appropriate medical advice and treatment may be medical malpractice. In view of the serious nature of this condition, whereby over 50% of suffers die within minutes of hemorrhaging and a high proportion of the survivors subsequently die and many of those remaining suffer from serious long term deficits, damages and compensation can be substantial.

There is a further area of potential negligence that needs to be considered in this regard that relates to treatment subsequent to admission to hospital following a subarachnoid hemorrhage. It is frequently necessary to carry out intra-cranial surgery whereby the ruptured blood vessels or a brain aneurysm are clipped or sealed. This surgery is difficult and challenging and only the most experienced neurosurgeons should carry out this operation. Any errors made at this stage may also give rise to a claim for damages for medical malpractice if the outcome of the operation is less satisfactory than it should have been.

To succeed in a claim for compensation it is necessary to show that it is more likely than not that their client has suffered injury which they would not otherwise have suffered but for negligent treatment by a health care professional. Treatment of a subarachnoid hemorrhage or a brain aneurysm is negligent if a healthcare provider has fallen below the minimum standard of skill or care that the medical profession regards as reasonable in that particular area of the country. This includes not only doctors but also hospitals, clinics, dentists, nurses and technicians and any other party or body that undertakes to provide services to take care of patients sufficient to establish a duty of care. A doctor / patient relationship is usually sufficient to establish the existence of a duty of care. Even if negligence has been proved there are a number of hurdles that potential claimants must surmount in order to obtain compensation for injury. It is also necessary to show that the harm suffered by the patient was directly attributable to the healthcare provider’s negligent actions. This may be difficult as the patient was ill at the start of the treatment and assessing what part of the ongoing illness was due to the original problem and what part was due to the negligent treatment may be a daunting task. This is usually achieved by the use of expert evidence to show the natural progression of the underlying condition and what the outcome would have been if non-negligent treatment had been given, thereby establishing what difference the negligent treatment has made.

Doctors usually provide a high standard of excellence for their patients however there are occasions when things go wrong. We can get you the best representation available anywhere in the country and our lawyers deal with claims on a contingency basis which means they don’t get paid unless they succeed. If you would like free telephone advice from an expert just complete the contact form.