SUBARACHNOID HAEMORRHAGE

A subarachnoid haemorrhage is a sudden leak of blood over the surface of the brain which affects over 8,000 people in the UK every year. In 75% of cases there is a brain aneurism which is weakness in the wall of one of the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. A brain haemorrhage occurs when the blood vessel wall tears because of the pressure of blood and when this happens blood bursts into the surrounding tissues. The people at greatest risk are those with high blood pressure and people who smoke. The injury is more common as people get older however a brain aneurysm can also occur in people with no known risk factors. 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. Many people have a sudden, severe headache often at the back of the head, which is followed by being sick. The headache usually persists for more than an hour. In more severe cases, the person may collapse and lose consciousness and some people also have a fit.

Most people who suffer from a subarachnoid haemorrhage do not know what the problem is and are taken to the accident and emergency department of their local hospital. Diagnosis is not straightforward and patients may arrive at the hospital suffering from a severe headache of sudden onset which may have cleared or at the other end of the spectrum the patient may be in a coma. Accident and emergency doctors should be aware that numerous warning symptoms may give an indication of a bleed in the brain and should not ignore the relatively minor symptoms that sometimes occur. Diagnosis is sometimes missed even by specialist neurologists and neurosurgeons and it is often not appreciated that the warning symptoms prior to a major brain haemorrhage occur in about 50% of all patients.

Two other types of brain haemorrhage that are also frequently misdiagnosed are

• Subdural haemorrhage
  which is often slowly evolving, frequently starting after trauma to the head with elderly people being particularly susceptible.
• Extradural haemorrhage
  which usually occurs after a head injury frequently being as a result of a contact sports injury.

A further area where medical negligence may arise in addition to mistakes made in diagnosis relates to the treatment of subarachnoid haemorrhage. Operations to repair the brain aneurism can be negligently performed, and if this negligence causes damage that otherwise would not have occurred, then it may be possible to recover compensation.

UK medical negligence law can be technical and complex and to succeed in a compensation claim it is essential that you receive legal advice from a specialist solicitor. If you would like free advice just complete the contact form and a solicitor who is a member of The Law Society panel of medical negligence experts will review your information and phone you immediately to discuss your compensation claim with no obligation and at no cost to you.