Urology Awareness Month
September is Urology Awareness Month, which aims to raise awareness of urological health and encourage people to seek help when they have concerns about their symptoms.
Urological problems can affect the kidneys, bladder, prostate, urethra and other parts of the urinary system. While treatment is often successful, sometimes mistakes or delays in medical care can cause serious and lasting harm.
When could urological treatment be negligent?
Medical negligence can happen when a healthcare professional does not provide the expected standard of care and this causes a patient harm.
Examples could include:
- A delay in diagnosis or treatment.
- Failing to carry out appropriate tests or investigations.
- Mistakes during surgery or another procedure.
- Failing to recognise or treat complications.
- Not referring a patient to a specialist when necessary.
- Mistakes with medication or treatment.
This does not mean that every complication or unsuccessful treatment is the result of negligence. Some complications are recognised risks of medical treatment and can happen even when appropriate care has been provided.
Why can delays be serious?
Some urological conditions need to be diagnosed and treated quickly. A delay could sometimes allow a condition to become worse or lead to additional complications.
For example, if worrying symptoms are not properly investigated, this could result in a condition being diagnosed later than it should have been and any subsequent treatment required to be more invasive.
Whether this amounts to medical negligence will depend on the individual circumstances of the case.
Could you make a claim?
If you believe that a mistake or delay in your urological treatment has caused you harm, you may be able to make a medical negligence claim.
A solicitor will look at what happened and consider whether:
- The medical care you received fell below the expected standard; and
- This caused you an injury or made your condition worse.
- Your medical records and other evidence will usually be important when investigating what happened.
Get advice if you have concerns
If something went wrong with your urological treatment, you may have questions about whether it could have been avoided.
Speaking to a specialist medical negligence solicitor can help you understand whether you may have a claim and what your options are.
If you are concerned that negligent urological treatment has caused you harm, contact our Medical Negligence Team for advice about your circumstances.