Subarachnoid Haemorrhage Claims- Clinical Negligence

A subarachnoid haemorrhage is a serious condition that is often fatal. Once the condition has been diagnosed, treatment must be administered quickly to increase the patient’s chances of survival. If treatment is unduly delayed, the patient has a higher risk of dying, or of experiencing severe complications associated with brain injuries, such as damage to the brain and life-changing disability.

Delays administering treatment can be classified as examples of clinical negligence if it can be proven that they had a direct and detrimental impact on a patient’s health. If you feel that you or a loved one has suffered due to negligent behaviour of medical staff in association with subarachnoid haemorrhage, call our Medical Negligence Solicitors today and discuss your case with one of our dedicated specialists.

What is a subarachnoid haemorrhage?

A subarachnoid haemorrhage is a rare type of stroke, characterised by bleeding on the surface of the brain. The condition is extremely serious and often fatal. In the majority of cases, the cause of the stroke is a ruptured aneurysm. Aneurysms are bulging weakness in the body’s blood vessels; when they rupture, blood leaks from them into the surrounding cavities. In the case of brain aneurysms, blood from the ruptured aneurysm leaks into the surrounding skull cavity, causing a stroke.

Who is at risk?

The cause of subarachnoid haemorrhage is not known, but there are some risk factors that may affect a person’s chances of developing an aneurysm. They include:

• Age
• Smoking
• Suffering from hypertensive disorders, such as high blood pressure

Symptoms

An impending subarachnoid haemorrhage has no symptoms or warning signs and are therefore almost impossible to predict. Symptoms usually manifest after the bleed as started and are typically severe in nature. They include:

• An excruciatingly painful headache, often located towards the back of the head
• Sudden vomiting
• Seizures
• Loss of consciousness

Subarachnoid haemorrhages often occur during times when excessive pressure is being exerted by the body, such as when lifting something heavy, straining on the toilet, or during sex.

Although symptoms of subarachnoid haemorrhages are generally unmistakable, some symptoms can manifest more mildly and be misdiagnosed as presentations of other, less serious conditions; a severe headache that isn’t accompanied by any other symptoms may be mistakenly diagnosed as a migraine. Misdiagnosis of a subarachnoid haemorrhage can be classed as a form of clinical negligence, particularly if the patient’s outcome was negatively affected by the error. Misdiagnosis of a subarachnoid haemorrhage is a serious error that can severely affect a patient’s chances of survival by delaying treatment.