A perineal tear, also known as a vaginal tear, is a split in the skin and muscles between the vagina and the rectum. It can cause a serious amount of pain and is unusually due to natural childbirth.
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Research study carried out showed that over 85% of women who give birth naturally sustain some form of vaginal injury, 65% of these women required suturing in order to make a recovery. Although this form of injury is common for many women, in some situations it could have been caused due to the negligent treatment of the medical team.
Women who are most at risk of a perineal tear are those who are carrying a baby heavier than 8lb or 4kg. Likewise, if the second stage of labour is very short or assisted delivery is required using a forceps or ventouse this may increase a woman’s chances of sustaining an injury.
Damage to any of the muscles surrounding the perineum can cause severe pain to the pelvic and abdominal areas. This can impact on the bonding of the mother and child along with increasing the likelihood of post-natal depression.
In serious cases these symptoms can last for years and cause serious pain and suffering in a woman’s life. It is important to note that if a woman suffers a tear and there is no clear or obvious reason it may be worthwhile reviewing medical records to see if medical negligence occurred. During birth procedures, haematomas can occur, if they are large in size it is like that they will need to be drained.
These tears occur around the urethra. These tears are small and can heal on their own, however they many need small stitches.
These tears occur inside the vagina or outside the vagina on the perineum. First degree tears refer to tears when only the skin tears and everything beneath the skin remains intact. Dissolvable stitches may be used to stop bleeding.
This tear is going to be deeper than the first degree tear and is when both the skin and muscles below are torn and it is usually treated with dissolvable stitches.
This is a deeper tear which will tear the skin, muscles and part of the external anal sphincter. Stitches may be used to treat this type of tear.
This is the deepest of all tears and involves a tear that extends into the rectum, resulting in a passage from the vagina into the rectum. Additional stitches procedures are needed here to separate the vagina from the rectum. This will take long to heal.
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For more information and a confidential discussion on your medical negligence claim, call Elaine Hickey, Head Medical Negligence Solicitor, on +353 1 649 9900 and tell her about your medical malpractice case or reach out via email to ask@traceysolicitors.ie and she can call you back.
Once you have gathered all the relevant information in relation to your injury it is then time to move forward with your claim. It is important to use a specialist medical negligence solicitor to help you with this.
If you feel that you were not provided with appropriate medical treatment whilst under the care of a medical professional which resulted in injury due to the actions or in-actions of a medical professional, then speaking with a medical negligence solicitor following the injury is imperative. Medical negligence is a complex topic in Irish law. Speak to a medical negligence solicitor when bringing a claim forward. This ensures that no essential steps are missed throughout the legal process. Bringing a claim forward without having spoken to a solicitor can delay your claims procedure. A solicitor can help to determine your birth injury time limit claim.
In order to make a claim, it must be established and proven that the injury sustained was caused by the medical negligence of the doctor or medical staff tasked with either your prenatal care, pregnancy, delivery and/or aftercare. Therefore, after having spoken with you about your case, your solicitor will then request access to your medical records. At this stage, the solicitor will have your medical records assessed by an independent medical expert. This will help determine whether a surgeon or medical staff who treated you had, in fact, administered substandard medical care and if negligence was the cause of the injury and if your injuries/outcome could have been avoided if the appropriate level of medical care had been adhered to.
If the independent medical expert has concluded that medical negligence has occurred, then your solicitor will draft a Letter of Claim to the medical practitioner who treated you. A Letter of Claim will outline the nature of your case and invites the medical practitioner to settle your case. The next steps involved are heavily dependent on your case and response to your Letter of Claim and will determine whether your case will be brought to court or settled outside of court. Your solicitor will be on hand every step of the way to guide you through this process.
At Tracey Solicitors LLP, our dedicated birth and gynaecological injury solicitors have years of experience in helping parents deal with traumatic birth injury claims. We understand the injuries, both physically and emotionally, that you have suffered and have supported and helped many people in similar situations proceed with medical negligence claims in Ireland over the past 30 years.
For more information and a confidential discussion on your birth or gynaecological injury claim, phone 01 649 9900 or email ask@traceysolicitors.ie to tell us about your case, where you can speak with a member of our team straight away.
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If you are to proceed with a medical negligence claim you may be entitled to claim compensation for the accident and added expenses, you may have incurred. These claims are called damages.
General damages are non-financial damages such as pain and suffering and/or physical and emotional injuries following a medical negligence injury.
Special damages are out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of the medical negligence injury, for example, loss of earnings (if you are out of work), medical bills, added travel costs as a result of the accident (for example, travel to and from the hospital) and future care costs. Learn more about Special Damages.
The statute of limitations are the legal time limits on how long you have to make a claim, which can vary depending on the situation. When taking into account how long medical negligence claims take, it is important to remember that medical negligence cases require certain time frames in place within which you can bring a claim. For medical negligence claims it is two years less a day following the date of the incident or two years less a day following the date that a person made the connection that their illness or injuries were a result of medical negligence. Contacting a solicitor to discuss your case will help you in determining how long you have left to make a claim.
In an unfortunate incident where a child is subject to medical negligence, the process of making a claim differs from that of an adult. A minor may be in a position to bring a claim forward in the first two years following their 18th birthday.
Learn more about Legal Time LimitsWe draw on more than 35 years of experience in personal injury law to provide you with expert advice and legal services.
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