Cauda Equina Syndrome Lawyer Chicago
Cauda equina syndrome is a medical and legal emergency. When a delayed diagnosis, a botched surgery, or someone else's negligence costs you the use of your bladder, bowels, legs, or sexual function, you deserve answers — and full compensation for a life that has been permanently changed.
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- No fees unless we win your case
- 24+ years fighting missed-diagnosis and injury claims
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Toby P. Mulholland: 25 Years Fighting For Injury Victims
Your Trusted Injury Lawyer
Since launching his law practice in 2000, Toby P. Mulholland has been a dedicated advocate for clients suffering serious and catastrophic injuries, including spinal cord injuries, paralysis, and cases involving missed or delayed diagnoses. His distinguished career is marked by skill in litigation across numerous trials, mediations, arbitrations, and depositions.
Cauda equina cases require an attorney who can read medical records, depose treating physicians, and understand exactly when a delay became negligence. Toby works directly with neurosurgeons, radiologists, and life-care planners to build the strongest possible case for every client.
What Is Cauda Equina Syndrome?
Cauda equina syndrome (CES) occurs when the bundle of nerve roots at the base of the spinal cord — the "horse's tail," or cauda equina in Latin — becomes compressed or damaged. Those nerves control feeling and movement in the legs, along with bladder, bowel, and sexual function. When they are compressed, every hour that passes without treatment increases the risk of permanent nerve damage.
CES is considered a surgical emergency. Medical literature widely points to a window — often cited as within 24 to 48 hours of the onset of severe symptoms — during which decompression surgery gives patients the best chance of a meaningful recovery. Miss that window, and the damage can become permanent: loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness in the groin or inner thighs ("saddle anesthesia"), leg weakness, paralysis, or loss of sexual function.
Because early symptoms can resemble ordinary back pain or sciatica, cauda equina syndrome is one of the most frequently missed diagnoses in emergency medicine. It is also, at times, the result of blunt trauma from a car crash, a fall, or a workplace accident that fractures or displaces the spine. Whether the failure was diagnostic or the injury was traumatic, the legal question is the same: could this outcome have been prevented, and who is responsible for the harm you're now living with?
At Mulholland Injury Law, we investigate both sides of these cases — medical negligence and accident-related trauma — because clients often aren't sure which applies to them until the medical records are reviewed. Our job is to find out, and to hold the responsible party accountable.
Common Causes of Cauda Equina Syndrome
CES claims generally fall into two categories: a medical team that failed to catch or treat it in time, or an accident that caused the spinal trauma in the first place.
Delayed or Missed ER Diagnosis
Emergency room staff dismiss severe back pain as a muscle strain or sciatica without ordering an MRI or performing a proper neurological exam, sending patients home while nerve damage progresses.
Failure to Recognize Red-Flag Symptoms
Bladder or bowel dysfunction, saddle numbness, and bilateral leg weakness are recognized red flags. A provider who fails to screen for these symptoms — or ignores them — can be held responsible for the delay that follows.
Surgical Delay or Error
Even after a correct diagnosis, delaying decompression surgery, scheduling errors, or complications from a botched procedure can cause the same permanent damage the surgery was meant to prevent.
Anesthesia and Epidural Complications
Improperly placed epidural injections or spinal anesthesia can directly injure the cauda equina nerve roots, particularly when a hematoma or abscess forms and goes undetected.
Car, Truck & Motorcycle Accidents
High-impact collisions can fracture vertebrae or herniate discs severely enough to compress the cauda equina, requiring emergency intervention within hours of the crash.
Falls and Workplace Injuries
Falls from height, construction accidents, and heavy-impact workplace incidents are common causes of the spinal trauma that can trigger cauda equina syndrome.
Life-Altering Effects of a Missed Diagnosis
Cauda equina syndrome doesn't just cause pain — when it's caught too late, it can permanently take away functions most people never think twice about. Our firm works with treating physicians and life-care planners to document the full, lasting impact on your life.
Discuss Your Diagnosis →- Permanent bladder or bowel dysfunction — including incontinence or the need for self-catheterization
- Saddle anesthesia — numbness in the groin, buttocks, and inner thighs
- Leg weakness or paralysis — partial or complete loss of lower-limb function
- Loss of sexual function — nerve damage affecting sensation and function
- Chronic pain and mobility loss — often requiring assistive devices or ongoing therapy
- Psychological impact — depression, anxiety, and loss of independence
Was It a Missed Diagnosis, or an Accident?
Most cauda equina syndrome claims fall into one of two categories. We investigate both so nothing gets left on the table.
Medical Malpractice Claims
When a doctor, nurse, or hospital fails to recognize or timely treat cauda equina syndrome, Illinois law allows victims to pursue a medical malpractice claim. To succeed, we must show the provider deviated from the accepted standard of care, and that the deviation caused your permanent injury.
- Failure to order an emergency MRI despite red-flag symptoms
- Premature discharge from the ER without proper screening
- Unreasonable delay in getting you to surgery
- Surgical errors during decompression procedures
- Improperly administered epidural or spinal injections
Accident-Related Claims
When trauma from a car accident, truck crash, workplace incident, or fall causes the spinal injury that leads to cauda equina syndrome, the claim is typically a personal injury case against the at-fault driver, employer, or property owner — and their insurer.
- Car, truck, or motorcycle collisions causing spinal fracture
- Falls from height on unsafe premises
- Workplace and construction site accidents
- Defective products or equipment causing traumatic injury
- Compounding negligence — e.g., a crash injury made worse by a delayed ER response
The Critical Window For Treatment
In malpractice cases, the timeline between symptom onset, diagnosis, and surgery is often the single most important piece of evidence. We reconstruct it hour by hour.
| Time Since Onset of Red-Flag Symptoms | Clinical Significance | What We Investigate |
|---|---|---|
| Within 24 hours | Medical literature generally associates prompt decompression in this window with the best chance of meaningful recovery of bladder, bowel, and motor function. | Whether imaging (MRI) was ordered immediately and whether surgical teams were notified without delay. |
| 24–48 hours | Outcomes become less predictable the longer decompression is delayed, though individual results vary by case. | Whether any delay was medically justified, or caused by scheduling, staffing, or diagnostic failures. |
| Beyond 48 hours | Risk of permanent nerve damage rises substantially the longer compression continues untreated. | Whether earlier red-flag symptoms were documented and dismissed, and by whom. |
These are general clinical patterns discussed in medical literature, not a guarantee of outcome in any specific case. Every cauda equina case turns on its own facts and medical records — a free case review with our team is the only way to know where your timeline stands.
Who Can Be Held Liable?
Depending on how your cauda equina syndrome developed, liability can extend well beyond a single doctor. We investigate every party whose negligence contributed to your injury — and pursue compensation from every available insurance policy.
- Emergency room physicians who failed to screen for red-flag symptoms
- Radiologists who misread or delayed reading imaging
- Surgeons and hospitals for delayed or negligent surgery
- At-fault drivers in car, truck, or motorcycle collisions
- Employers or property owners in workplace and premises cases
No Recovery, No Fee
We handle cauda equina syndrome cases on a contingency basis. You pay nothing upfront, and nothing at all unless we win compensation for you.
Why Choose Mulholland Injury Law?
24+ Years of Experience
Decades handling catastrophic injury, spinal injury, and medical negligence claims across Illinois.
Medical Timeline Expertise
We know how to reconstruct the hours between symptom onset and treatment — often the crux of a CES case.
Direct Access to Your Attorney
You work directly with Toby, not a rotating cast of case managers.
Five-Star Client Reviews
Verified Google reviews highlighting compassion, communication, and results.
Cauda Equina Syndrome FAQs
Illinois generally applies a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury and medical malpractice claims, though there are exceptions (such as discovery of the injury or claims involving minors) that can change this deadline. Because these rules are fact-specific, it's important to speak with an attorney as soon as possible rather than relying on a general timeline.
Possibly. If you reported red-flag symptoms — such as bladder or bowel changes, saddle numbness, or leg weakness — and a provider failed to order imaging or refer you for emergency evaluation, that may support a malpractice claim. We review your medical records to find out what was actually documented and when.
Yes. Even when a diagnosis is eventually made, unreasonable delays in scheduling or performing decompression surgery can form the basis of a claim if that delay contributed to permanent nerve damage.
Depending on the facts, victims may be entitled to compensation for past and future medical care, lost income and reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and in cases of egregious conduct, punitive damages.
No. We handle these cases on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney's fees unless and until we recover compensation on your behalf.
Talk To a Cauda Equina Syndrome Lawyer Today
If a missed diagnosis or an accident has left you living with permanent nerve damage, you don't have to face the insurance companies and hospital lawyers alone.
Contact a Cauda Equina Syndrome Lawyer in Chicago Today
At Mulholland Injury Law, we are committed to providing aggressive legal representation for victims of missed diagnoses and catastrophic spinal injuries.
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