Debbie Thomason sues Northampton Hospital over late diagnosis

Debbie Thomason said she was in excruciating pain after sneezing

A woman is suing the NHS over claims doctors failed to spot a condition in time that has left her disabled.

Debbie Thomason was taken to Northampton General Hospital in May 2011 in "excruciating pain" after she had sneezed.

Her lawyers say the hospital failed to diagnose cauda equina syndrome, a spine condition, and operate before it was "too late to prevent permanent damage".

The hospital said it would not comment during the legal proceedings.

Mrs Thomason, who lives in Northampton, said she went from being a busy mother to being completely dependent on others within a matter of months.

'Unacceptable delay'

She says she is constant pain and can barely walk unaided.

"I am absolutely distraught about what happened to me," she said.

"My life has been completely shattered by the permanent damage to my spine, which I believe could have been prevented if I had received the care I urgently needed."

JMW Solicitors, representing Mrs Thomason, said the mother of two had shown "classic symptoms" of the spinal condition, including numbness in her lower back, when she was first taken to the hospital on 16 May.

There was an "unacceptable delay" before she had surgery on 24 May, a spokesman for the firm said.

"Cauda equina syndrome has devastated her life, but the tragedy is that it doesn't have to cause such significant disability and can be treated effectively with urgent surgery," JMW lawyer Eddie Jones said.