Poor Bladder Care After Epidural in Maternity Ward

The TSP Clinical Negligence team recently represented Mrs K for an injury sustained following the birth of her child.

Mrs K was given an epidural while she was in labour with her first child. When an epidural is administered it is vital that a catheter is inserted straight after the birth as the analgesic effects of the epidural prevent the woman from having any bladder sensation and therefore knowing when she needs to pass urine. Unfortunately Mrs K did not have a catheter inserted after the birth.

7½ hours after delivery, Mrs K tried to go to the toilet but was unable to pass urine. This happened again 2½ hours later. A catheter was then inserted and two litres of urine was drained, which is a huge volume to be held by the bladder. Despite regular catheterisation thereafter Mrs K still found it hard to pass urine and a scan revealed that her bladder was retaining fluid.

Over the next few weeks her symptoms improved but she has been left with symptoms of urinary frequency, urgency and hesitancy. Investigations revealed that failing to catheterise Mrs K after delivery caused a very large amount of urine to build up in her bladder which caused a major distension injury. This means that her bladder was overstretched and this over stretching damaged the nerves around her bladder which has resulted in ongoing problems with passing urine. Mrs K was awarded £20,000.