Urology & Catheter Injury claims.

Urological negligence claims most often concern two everyday procedures that go wrong with lasting consequences: urinary catheterisation and the management of urinary retention.

Catheter injuries typically involve force used against resistance, the balloon inflated in the urethra rather than the bladder, or repeated traumatic attempts — causing tears and, over time, strictures (scarring that narrows the urethra). The result can be permanent urinary problems: pain, recurrent infections, difficulty passing urine and repeated corrective procedures. These injuries are almost always avoidable with proper technique and timely urology input when a catheter will not pass.

The mirror-image failing is not catheterising when it is needed. Acute urinary retention — the sudden inability to pass urine — is painful and, if left, dangerously over-stretches the bladder. A patient in retention who is not catheterised promptly can suffer permanent bladder muscle damage, leaving them dependent on self-catheterisation for life, along with kidney injury from back-pressure. Claims arise in A&E, on wards and post-operatively where retention was missed or ignored despite an obviously distended bladder or a patient reporting they could not pass urine.

Compensation typically ranges from £10,000–£50,000 for urethral injuries with good recovery, to £75,000–£250,000 for permanent urinary dysfunction, lifelong self-catheterisation or significant bladder damage. The limitation period is generally 3 years from the injury or date of knowledge.