How To Claim Compensation For A Ruptured Or Injured Bladder? - How Much Can I Claim?

By Olivia Fiona. Last updated 8th March 2021. Welcome to our guide on how to make an injured bladder claim. An injured bladder can have a significant effect on your health and life. Not only can it lead to significant pain and incontinence, but it can also cause difficulty going to the toilet, discomfort while having intercourse and in severe cases, such as a ruptured bladder, can cause serious medical emergencies like internal bleeding. An injury to the bladder often requires surgery to fix, otherwise, you may suffer permanent effects, such as being forced to use a catheter.

Enduring such issues as a result of the negligence of a person or organisation which had a duty of care to you is unacceptable, and it could enable you to claim compensation from them to make up for the physical harm and financial problems the injury has put you through.

Legal Helpline has put this guide together to inform you about medical negligence and personal injury claims for an injured bladder and how our panel of solicitors can assist you in making a claim. If at any time you’d like more information or would like to begin a claim, get in touch on 0333 000 0729.

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A Guide To Injured Bladder Compensation Claims

We have put this guide together to make sure that if you are thinking of making an injured bladder claim or ruptured bladder claim for an accident that wasn’t your fault, you can make an informed decision before contacting a solicitor. This guide will explain what symptoms you should look out for, what kind of accidents could entitle you to make a personal injury claim, how compensation for a personal injury claim is calculated, and the ways you can pursue a claim without financial risk.

injured bladder claim

There are a few other points that are worth noting about personal injury claims before we move on. First, there is the statutory time limit that applies in both personal injury and medical negligence cases. Everyone is granted just three years from the date of the accident or negligence, or from when the diagnosis is made, to issue a claim, otherwise you may be time-barred from making a claim.

There are strict exceptions to this rule, one of which involves people who are currently under the age of 18, whose parents can claim on their behalf until they are 18. If no claim is made by the time they’re 18, the child has until their 21st birthday to begin a claim. The time limit is also different for criminal injury claim cases. If the injury was caused by a criminal attack then you have two years in which to begin a claim.

Another point to mention is that we recommend you take certain steps to collect some evidence to support your case:

Taking photos of the scene of the accident (i.e. a faulty piece of machinery, or a car that hit you).
If the accident was a road traffic accident, take down the contact and insurance details of the driver involved if possible. Be sure in any case to make a note and/or take a photo of their license number.
Take down the contact details of any witnesses.
Write down all you can remember about the accident, even down to the small details. It is best to do it while your memory is still clear.
Visit your GP if you have not done so already.

These steps can assist you in making a successful claim by providing clearer evidence. Don’t fret if you have not already done all of these things, as your personal injury solicitor can help you gather the evidence you may need.

What Does The Bladder Do?

The bladder is a sac in the lower abdomen above and behind the pelvic bone. Its main purpose is storing urine which it receives as a waste product from the kidneys. It is surrounded by muscles which can stretch to accommodate its increased size when it is full and which contract when a person urinates. The bladder enables the body to store urine and control when it is released, as opposed to being incontinent.

What Is An Injured Bladder?

Because the bladder is situated close to the pelvic bones, it does have a degree of physical protection from some forms of injury. Nevertheless, there are a number of different types of injuries and conditions that a bladder can be affected by.

According to recent statistics from The Urology Foundation:

Bladder cancer is the 4th most common male tumour
50% of women will develop a UTI in their lifetime
Internal cystitis affects 400,000 people

We are going to cover these different types of injuries and how they could result in injured bladder claims in the following sections. In brief, they include:

The effects of childbirth or of negligently performed caesarean sections.
The effects of other forms of medical negligence, such as negligently performed surgery or wrongly prescribed medications.
Injuries to the spine and nerves connecting the spine to the bladder.
Accidents in the workplace.
Rupturing of the bladder through penetration by sharp objects.

What Are The Symptoms Of A Ruptured Or Injured Bladder?

Some of the signs which may indicate that you have suffered a rupture or injury of some other kind to your bladder may include:

Pain and tenderness in the lower abdomen.
Blood in your urine.
Bloody discharge from the urethra.
Urine leakage or incontinence.
Difficulty urinating, either starting or fully emptying your bladder.
Bruising in your lower abdomen.
Pain during sexual intercourse.

In some cases a ruptured or damaged bladder can cause internal bleeding. In such cases the symptoms of internal bleeding can include:

Drowsiness.
Paleness.
Skin feeling cold to the touch.
An increased heart rate.
Falling blood pressure.

If any of the symptoms in either of these lists appears, go and have yourself looked at by a GP at once.

Ruptured Bladder Injuries

The bladder can be perforated or ruptured by a number of traumatic physical injuries and could allow you to make injured bladder claims. These can be caused by:

Penetrating wounds caused by sharp objects. These can be caused by knives or other sharp weapons during a criminal assault. They could also be caused by an accident with a piece of machinery in the workplace, i.e. by a drill or a screwdriver.
Blunt force trauma. If the lower abdomen is struck with sufficient force then the bladder can be ruptured. This can also occur during a criminal assault (i.e. by being kicked or punched) or from a workplace accident. Other causes of blunt force trauma sufficient to rupture the bladder can include slips, trips or falls and being involved in a road traffic accident.
Perforations. When the bladder is sliced by a sharp object. This is most likely to occur as a result of medical negligence in surgery.

Injured Bladders In Childbirth Or A Cesarean Section

As the uterus and other parts of the female reproductive system are located close to the bladder, complications in pregnancy and childbirth can sometimes impact how it operates. The pressure put on the bladder,urethra and muscles during a difficult childbirth can potentially lead to incontinence. If a caesarean section is performed poorly, then the bladder can be damaged by being cut inadvertently by a scalpel, damaging or rupturing the bladder. Such an injury could constitute sufficient grounds for a compensation claim under medical negligence, especially if it is found that the caesarean section was not medically necessary. Let’s look in more detail at instances of medical negligence and the bladder.

Medical Negligence Causing An Injured Bladder

All doctors have a strict duty of care to their patients. Allowing harm to come to them through negligence is a serious breach of that duty of care. Nowhere is this medical duty of care more important than when patients are undergoing surgery. If an operation is being performed by a surgeon who is not qualified or adequately prepared to perform it, or if the surgeon makes a mistake while performing the procedure, then there is a risk that the bladder, the urethra, or the nerves, muscles and sphincters which control them, could be damaged. This could potentially constitute grounds for making a compensation claim.

Some surgeries may inherently pose certain risks of complications even if they are performed correctly. If the danger of certain complications is unavoidable, then you must be fully informed of them before being asked to consent to surgery. If such a complication arises and you had not been made aware of it beforehand then it could give you grounds to make a compensation claim.

There are other ways that negligent medical treatment affecting the bladder could be cause for a compensation claim. For example there are some medications which can have adverse side effects on the bladder. If these effects arise without you having been warned of them, or if you were wrongly prescribed them or given a prescription dose that was too large, then you could have grounds to seek compensation for medical negligence.

Bladder Prolapse Injuries

If the bladder is damaged or put under repeated strain then it can prolapse, a bladder prolapse is when the bladder falls out of its proper position in the abdomen. For anatomical reasons, this type of injury occurs more frequently in women. This can be caused by pressure to the muscles surrounding the bladder caused by manual handling accidents and can also be caused by complications during pregnancy and childbirth. The signs of a prolapsed bladder can often be noticed through:

Pain and discomfort in the lower abdomen.
Pain and discomfort around the genitals.
Difficulty urinating.
Pain and discomfort during sex.

If you have suffered a prolapsed bladder as a result of medical negligence, a workplace accident or road traffic accident that wasn’t your fault, then you could be entitled to make a ruptured bladder claim.

Bladder Injuries Caused By Spinal And Back Injuries

The bladder is controlled by nerves that extend out from the lower end of the spinal cord. That means that the bladder can be affected by injuries to the spine. If the nerves connecting the bladder to the spine or the brain are damaged, incontinence can occur. The signals that travel back and forth from the brain to indicate when the bladder is full, and signals instructing the bladder to urinate, are unable to effectively communicate. A bladder that cannot be emptied properly can also lead to further problems such as leakage and damage to the bladder itself.

If you have suffered bladder problems or bladder injuries as a result of a back injury due to an accident that wasn’t your fault, we recommend getting in touch with us to find out from our team of advisors whether or not our panel of personal injury solicitors can help your bring an accident claim against those responsible. We feel you may also find it useful to read this guide on paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries, as a spinal cord injury could well have effects that extend far beyond the bladder.

To learn more about injured bladder claims and how you could sustain a bladder injury at work, please read on.

Injured Bladder Caused By An Accident At Work

Penetrating injuries, blunt force injuries and abdominal strain injuries to the bladder can all potentially occur in workplace accidents. Employers have a duty of care to ensure that all reasonable measures are taken to prevent workplace accidents. If they don’t and an employee suffers an injury as a result, then that employee could bring a compensation claim against them. There are legal protections that ensure that an employee cannot be sacked or disciplined by an employer for making a compensation claim against them. While you’re at it, why not read our guide specifically dedicated to workplace injury claims?

Some of the workplace accidents which could cause a bladder injury include:

Accidents caused by not receiving the proper training for using equipment and machinery in the workplace.
Accidents caused by faulty or damaged machinery and equipment in the workplace.
Accidents while lifting and moving heavy objects due to not being given manual handling training, or from having to lift objects that are too heavy.

Injured Bladder Compensation Claims Calculator

Below we have included a table detailing potential compensation awards for different injuries. It’s similar to a personal injuries claims calculator, though we find they can be difficult to use. The figures in the table below are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines, a legal publication which details compensation awards made by the courts for different injuries.

As you can probably tell, more serious injuries with lasting effects warrant higher amounts of compensation. As well as the extent of the injury itself, the degree to which the injury and its impact on your life has impacted your mental health will be considered when calculating compensation. Do not mistake the numbers in this chart for a definitive final total of what you will receive for a successful claim. The value of each case is dependent upon its unique set of facts.

Injury	Notes	Compensation
Bladder injury (a)	Total double incontinence, loss of control and function of both bladder and bowels.	Up to £172,860
Bladder injury (b)	Bladder incontinence, complete loss of function and control.	Up to £132,040
Bladder injury (c)	Impairment of function with pain and incontinence	Up to £75,010
Bladder injury (d)	Cases with a complete recovery but severe long term impact on control and function.	Up to £29,380
Bowel injury (a)	Double incontinence, complete loss of control and function in both bowels and bladder	Up to £172,860
Bowel injury (b)	Complete loss of function and reliance on a colostomy bag.	Up to £140,870
Bowel injury (c)	Urgency and incontinence continuing after surgery.	In the region of £75,000
Bowel injury (d)	Impairment of function, causing reliance on colostomy bags, forcing changes in diet and employment.	£41,850-£65,440

To learn more about special damages that could be included in either a ruptured bladder claim or a more general injured bladder claim, please see the next section.

Special Damages Awarded In Personal Injury Claims

In many cases having an injury which significantly impacts your health can also significantly impact on your finances and income. Compensation could be claimed to cover these losses. Examples of what can be claimed in losses and expenses include:

Travel costs related to the injury (including bus and train tickets).
Health care costs, including any private fees you have paid for treatment or medication necessary for your recovery.
Care costs, any expenses related to the care and support you have received while recovering or as a result of being disabled by your injuries.
Lost earnings This includes income you would have received had you not suffered an injury. It can also include work bonuses.
Loss of future earnings. If the injury is severe enough to prevent you from returning to your job, you can factor in lost future earnings too.

For further details on what can be claimed in special damages, or if you have any other questions about calculating compensation, talk to one of our advisors today. In doing so, you could get a free consultation on making ruptured bladder claims or injured bladder claims.

No Win, No Fee Claims For An Injured Bladder

You could be forgiven for thinking that making an injured bladder claim would not be feasible for people who are not in the strongest financial position. At Legal Helpline we don’t think it would be fair for anyone to be denied the opportunity to seek compensation just because they don’t have the money to take on a personal injury solicitor. That’s why we offer all of our clients the opportunity to enter into a No Win, No Fee Agreement, also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under a CFA, you will not be asked to pay any fees upfront or during the claim, and if your case is unsuccessful you will not have to pay any of the fees your solicitor has incurred in pursuing your claim.

If your case is successful, your solicitor may seek a small contribution toward their costs. This contribution is known as a success fee and would be deducted from the compensation awarded at the end of the claim. Don’t worry, the success fee is legally capped and will be agreed in writing with your solicitor before you begin your claim.

How Our Team Could Help If You Have An Injured Bladder

Our panel of solicitors has decades of experience handling personal injury and medical negligence claims. They are well versed in the complexities of the legal process and will guide you through it expertly. They will strive to win you the maximum amount of compensation possible, and if ever you have a query or would like an update on your injured bladder claim, they’ll be on hand to take your call.

Start A Claim For A Bladder injury

For a free, no-strings-attached legal consultation, call our team of friendly advisors to discuss your injured bladder claim today. They’ll discuss your case with you in detail and will advise you on making a claim. If they believe your claim has merit, they’ll put you in touch with a specialist solicitor from our panel. To speak to us today, you can use any of these contact details.

Our number: 0333 000 0729

Our online enquiry form

Injured Bladder Claim FAQs

Some frequently asked questions on ruptured bladder claims and the like include:

What happens if the bladder is damaged?

If your bladder is suspected to be damaged, it’s best to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Therefore, any injuries can be either treated or ruled out, and the incident causing your concern can be logged in your medical records to evidence any future claim you may make.

Can you survive a burst bladder?

If a loved one has sadly passed as a result of a bladder injury that wasn’t their fault, did you know you could claim on their behalf if someone else was responsible for their suffering or could have prevented it? For more information, please contact Legal Helpline today.