Our client, an elderly man who previously was living independently, fell when out shopping and was taken to the hospital. Despite the paramedics recording that he was suffering from right shin pain following the fall, there was no examination of his right lower leg and ankle, and he was discharged home, where he lives alone.
At home, our client was unable to mobilise due to right ankle pain and was left in a chair. He tried to mobilise to the bathroom but fell and was unable to get up or get to the phone to get help.
He lay on the floor, soiling himself and becoming starved and dehydrated.
Eventually, he was found and taken back to the same hospital where a right ankle fracture was diagnosed. This was treated non-operatively with plaster which alleviated our client’s pain.
We obtained our client’s records and witness evidence and then obtained supportive expert evidence from an A & E expert and an orthopaedic surgeon.
A Letter of Claim was then sent to the Defendant Trust, but liability was strongly denied. The Defendant argued that there was no evidence to support a right ankle fracture being a possibility and so it was reasonable not to diagnose it.
Our A & E expert remained supportive of breach of duty despite the denial of liability and so we challenged the Letter of Response with a further letter setting out our position.
The Defendant took a long time to respond but when they did, they maintained their denial of liability. We, therefore, had a conference with our client, a barrister and both of the experts, who all they remained supportive of the claim.
Bearing in mind that this was always going to be a low value claim for a short delay in diagnosis of the fracture, rather than incurring the costs of court proceedings we again challenged the Defendant’s position, but they maintained their stance of denying liability.
We, therefore, had no choice but to start the process of registering the claim with the Court, at which stage, the Defendant made a settlement offer in the sum of £2,500 which was accepted by our client.
Our client’s relative provided a 5-star Trustpilot review: “Thank you for a wonderful service to all at Oliver & Co Solicitors. Particularly, a very special Thankyou to Liz Fry, for all of her hard work! Liz was very thorough, with great communication and moreover, kind and compassionate- which is very much appreciated. I would certainly recommend this company in their professionalism and expertise.”
How can we help you?
If you, or a loved one, have suffered from the serious consequence of delayed or missed diagnosis of a health condition then we may be able to help. Our medical negligence team benefits from in-house medical knowledge from our head of department, Linda Schermer-Jones, who is dual qualified doctor and solicitor. We therefore have the ability to quickly and efficiently assess areas of potential negligence you, or a loved one, may have suffered.
Please do not hesitate to contact one of our specialised team members today for free advice regarding whether you may have a potential medical negligence claim on 01244 354688.