Our client attended A&E after injuring his right wrist playing football. His wrist was x-rayed, and he was diagnosed with a wrist sprain. Our client was given a splint and told to wear it during the day (not at night) for about 10 days and to take pain relief. He was discharged without any follow-up.
Our client continued to suffer from pain and stiffness in his wrist and some 9 months later, he went to his GP, who arranged for him to have an x-ray. The x-ray showed an old, unhealed fracture of the scaphoid bone. The hospital undertook further imaging which they believed demonstrated that the fracture was now healing, so our client was once again discharged from follow-up.
Over the following months, our client continued to suffer from pain and stiffness such that he was not able to carry out his job as normal at full capacity, undertake DIY tasks or enjoy his hobbies.
Our client approached us to help him bring a claim against the hospital for the failure to diagnose his wrist fracture. We arranged for him to have a private CT scan which showed that the scaphoid fracture had not healed. The damage to his wrist was so severe that he needed surgery involving screw fixation and bone graft of the right scaphoid to facilitate healing.
Allegations
We were able to obtain expert evidence from several specialists including a GP, Consultant Radiologist and Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon. The evidence obtained supported our client’s claim in that the defendant breached their duty of care by failing to diagnose, treat and follow him up appropriately when he initially attended the hospital. They then failed to recognise that the fracture had not healed when he attended some months later, resulting in prolonged pain, suffering and loss of amenity, as well as the need for the screw surgery.
Settlement
The defendant admitted some fault but would not accept that all our client’s symptoms were a result of their negligence. We were able to settle our client’s claim in his favour and he received £28,000 compensation, which included a claim for general damages, past loss of earnings and care and assistance.
How can we help you?
Our team of specialised medical negligence solicitors would be happy to help by quickly and efficiently assessing any areas of potential negligence for a wide range of claims.
Should you wish to have a free and confidential chat in relation to a potential scaphoid fracture claim, give our team of specialist clinical negligence solicitors a call on 01244 354688.
