Bladder injury
compensation claims

If a bladder injury has set you back, we'll help you move forward

Bladder injuries may result from surgical procedures, traumatic incidents, or physical impact. A compensation claim can help cover the debilitating effects of such injuries, including medical expenses, lost earnings, and personal suffering.

If you have been affected by a bladder injury, we can help. If your injuries were caused by someone else's actions or negligence, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

You can make a compensation claim with the help and support of a personal injury solicitor.

You are not alone

Anyone who has sustained a bladder injury after a work accident or road accident that was not their fault, or through medical negligence, may be able to bring a compensation claim. Due to the nature of bladder injuries, surgery is often required and rehabilitation can be a lengthy process.

Compensation has been awarded for a range of bladder injuries and conditions, including ruptured or perforated bladder injury and prolapsed bladder injury. Recognising the severity of these injuries, Court awards can be higher compared to more minor, superficial injuries.

If you are looking for information on bladder injury symptoms and treatment, see: bladder pain (nhs.uk).

Claiming compensation for a ruptured bladder

A ruptured or perforated bladder is a serious injury that is caused by trauma to the pelvic region. Ruptured bladder injuries fall into three broad categories:

• Blunt trauma injury, such as a high-velocity blow to the in a road traffic accident, a cycling accident, a pedestrian accident or a fall from a height.
• Penetrating wounds, such as stab wounds caused by criminal injury or dangerous machinery at work.
• Perforation injuries that occur when the bladder is accidentally pierced during surgery as a result of clinical or medical negligence.

The majority of traumatic bladder injuries are successfully remedied by surgery. However, short- or long-term serious complications can occur, including infection (peritonitis), bleeding, urinary retention, blockage of the urethra and scar formation.

When calculating damages for a bladder injury, the Courts do not take into account the nature of the accident that caused the damage. Compensation awards are determined solely by reference to the severity of the bladder injury and the impact it has on the claimant's life.

However, for the purposes of making a compensation claim, the cause of the accident does matter. The injury lawyer must prove that the defendant negligently caused the accident, and that the bladder ruptured as a result.

See also:

Scar injury compensation claims

Compensation for bladder prolapse

The NHS estimate that one in 10 women will have surgery to rectify a prolapsed bladder by the time they are 80 years old.

Common causes of a prolapsed bladder include:

• A manual handling accident or other exertion in the workplace
• Medical negligence, which may occur during a forceps delivery, Caesarean section, hysterectomy or other surgery.

A prolapsed bladder is not life-threatening but it can trigger long-term problems such as urinary difficulties, stress incontinence, lower back pain or pain during sexual intercourse.

As an initial step, the injury lawyer will arrange for the claimant to be examined by an independent medical expert who is not the claimant's surgeon or GP. The medical expert acts as an impartial assessor of the bladder injury. He or she will prepare a medical report describing the injuries and the prognosis for recovery and will make recommendations for further rehabilitation.

The severity of the bladder injury, as stated in the medical report, is used as basis for negotiating the settlement award in the compensation claim.

Do I qualify for bladder injury compensation?

If you've been injured or made ill in the last three years and it wasn't your fault, then you will be entitled to claim compensation for bladder injury.

Find out online if you can claim with our injury claim calculator. Alternatively, you can speak to a claims advisor on 0800 376 1001 and find out if you have a claim in minutes.

What if I was partially at fault?

Personal injury claims where both the defendant and claimant share some responsibility are relatively common.

In our recent 2023 Personal Injury Claimant Survey, 13.99% of respondents thought they could be partially to blame for their accident.

Even if your actions or negligence played a role in the accident, you could still be eligible for compensation. Cases with shared fault (contributory negligence) frequently settle through a split liability agreement.

Read more:

Can I claim if I feel I was partly responsible for my accident?

How long do I have to make a bladder injury claim?

For most injury claims, you have up to 3 years from the date of your injury to start the claims process.

The 3 year limitation period does not apply to minors (under 18s). A parent, guardian or litigation friend can start a claim on a child's behalf up to their 18th birthday and the child has until their 21st birthday to claim for themselves.

Who is liable?

Who is liable? depends on the nature of the accident and the law that applies to accidents of the type the claimant has suffered.

For example, where the accident occurred at work, a claim may be brought against the employer. To make a successful claim, the injury lawyer will gather evidence to show that the employer failed to take reasonable steps to eliminate the risks associated with the relevant work process or machinery and thus can be held legally accountable for the accident.

Where the injury was sustained in a vehicle, bicycle or pedestrian accident, the injury lawyer will consult the Highway Code and other driving legislation to demonstrate that the defendant negligently caused the accident that resulted in the bladder injury.

Clinical negligence claims can be difficult to prove. The injury lawyer must show that:

• The standard of care received fell below that of a reasonably competent medical professional in the specific area of medicine (negligence); and
• The bladder injury arose as a direct result of the negligent action (causation).

For bladder perforations sustained during surgery, a claim cannot usually be brought just because the surgeon did something wrong. The injury lawyer must prove that the perforation was not identified and correctly repaired at the time of the surgery and that the error caused significant injury. Read more about surgical negligence compensation claims.

How much compensation can I claim for a bladder injury?

The amount of money you could claim for your injury will depend on:

• the seriousness of your injury, and
• any financial losses or costs you have incurred.

At the start of your claim, your solicitor will consider the many ways your injuries have affected your life. Your solicitor will take these considerations into account to calculate the correct compensation award.

General damages

General damages are awarded for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA).

Awards for general damages are set by the Judicial College and published in their guidelines for personal injury awards.

How is compensation calculated if I have multiple injuries?

Special damages

If it can be proved that your injury left you unable to work, special damages can be awarded for any lost earnings, loss of commission or bonuses, and loss of pension contributions. It may also be possible to claim for loss of future earnings, if the medical prognosis establishes that you won't be able to work for any period in the future.

These damages will also cover the cost of any medical procedures you might need to treat or recover from your bladder injury such as catheter placement, surgical repair, antibiotics and pain medication.

Read more:

A complete list of recoverable losses in a personal injury claim

Average bladder injury general damages compensation

The following bladder injury payouts refer to the Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases, Sixteenth Edition by the Judicial College.

Please note: these average figures represent general damages only, and do not include any element of special damages (e.g. lost wages).

What happened?

The process for a bladder injury claim depends the circumstances of the accident. To learn more, click the icons below:

Work
accidents

Public
places

Road
accidents

Medical
negligence

Other
accidents

Injury FAQs

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How we can help you with your injury claim

Your solicitor will fight for the best possible compensation settlement for you, and the highly-experienced panel of solicitors have an excellent track record of winning injury claims.

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Author:
Helen Goddard, Legal researcher

About the author

Helen is an award-winning legal researcher and author. She is an experienced court litigation report proofreader and has written extensively on legal matters.