Failed sterilisation or vasectomy? What to do next
Vasectomy failure is estimated to effect one person for every 400 patients, where the sperm can remain motile for up to six months. If the semen goes unchecked in this time - the critical timeframe being the first three months - this can result in unwanted pregnancies.
Problems such as spontaneous recanalization (seen in less than 1% of patients) can lead to failure in vasectomy, as can over simplified procedures of ligation and excision, where a ligament is cut by accident.
Failed sterilisation can come about from when the fallopian tubes re-grow or through doctor error where the Filshie clips were not fastened correctly and have slipped off. The latter is the most common cause in the UK due to its popularity amongst doctors in the current medical climate. Failed sterilisation where the Filshie clips were used is usually easier to prove since the team involved will take a picture of the clips and file it in the woman’s medical records.
Whatever the cause, ultimately an unplanned pregnancy can cause immense stress in any relationship, often threatening marriages on account of suspicion of adultery. Cases of medical negligence such as these are very difficult to prove, yet with the right clinical negligence specialist solicitor you could be eligible for compensation regarding an infringement on your rights to limit your family, and for the pain and suffering of pregnancy and childbirth.
Where the ‘wrongful birth’ occurs soon after the operation whether it be a sterilisation or a vasectomy it is easier to bring about a claim for negligence as recanalization often occurs over a greater length of time, rendering the case harder to prove.
You should lodge an official complaint with the Trust responsible for your healthcare as soon as the problem becomes apparent; this is the first step to claiming compensation for negligence. In the UK a medical negligence case or legal proceedings must have been issued within three years of the incident, where the claim is not made before three years, legal action will become statute barred.
Finding the right medical negligence solicitor can be difficult but there are plenty of firms around who work solely in this area. Ask at your local Citizens Advice Centre for independent advice, or look on the Internet for a "no win no fee" representative. Once you have chosen your solicitor arrange to meet them face to face to discuss your grievance, and make sure that they put you at your ease, take detailed notes about your case and are sympathetic to your situation.
When you are satisfied with your representative, he or she will then go about establishing the level of care you should have received, comparing this to the care you did receive and building a case around that. Where malpractice such as insufficient warnings of at which stage the sperm is no longer motile, is evident you will be able to bring about a compensation claim.
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