Accidental Nerve Damage Claims

There are many ways in which a nerve can be accidentally damaged by clinicians and nerve damage is a common cause for complaint and legal action. Damage to a nerve by can occur in the following ways:

• The administration of drugs that are very toxic to nerves (e.g. Thalidomide).

• The administration of anti blood clotting drugs (e.g. Heparin) resulting in bleeding in or around a nerve or nerves.

• Accidental injection of certain drugs into or near the nerve such as steroids, antibiotics, antipsychotics and analgesics. (Valium is particularly toxic to nerves) The damage is done by the mechanical effect of the injection as well as the toxic effects of the drug and the resulting pain is immediate and intense.

• Bleeding from a punctured artery following taking of a blood sample (most usually at wrist, elbow or groin) leading to compression of the nerve.

• Failure to notice ischaemia (reduced blood supply) often following a fracture. (However, nerves can recover even after being deprived of a blood supply for as long as 12 hours).

• Tourniquet paralysis caused by applying a tourniquet wrongly or leaving it on too long during certain types of orthopaedic surgery. A rough guide for duration of application of a tourniquet is 1 hour for the upper limb and 2 hours for the lower limb.

• Pressure (from without) on nerves from poor positioning on the operating table when patient unconscious. The most vulnerable nerves, because of their position between the skin and hard underlying tissue, are the ulnar at the elbow, the radial in the arm, the brachial plexus in the neck and the common peroneal at the knee.

• Traction during manipulation of the back or neck can also result in nerve damage, and excessive traction on the neck during the delivery of a large baby quite frequently results in brachial plexus injury (Erb's Palsy).

• Direct damage to a nerve during surgery from cutting, burning, stretching or compressing is often the most serious. Occasionally it is unavoidable (eg when removing a cancerous growth) but all trauma to nerves can be recognised and diagnosed and many can be treated with a good prospect of success. However, some nerve damage is very resistant to treatment.

Claiming damages for clinical negligence is a specialist area of law which requires solicitors who have specific training and experience in medical negligence compensation claims.

JMW medical negligence solicitors offer free initial advice on clinical and medical negligence claims, evaluating whether you have a case. We are able to deal with cases using public funding (formerly Legal Aid) or no win no fee in appropriate cases.