Clinical Negligence Solicitors

A recent report has revealed that the NHS pays millions of pounds of compensation a year for failing to identify fractures.

Fractures that went unnoticed or were treated inadequately in the hand alone cost the NHS over £6 million in the past ten years, with compensation pay outs ranging from £10,000 to £1 million. An undiagnosed break or fracture increased the risk of a “non-union”, where a broken bone does not fuse correctly, resulting in further injury.

A Freedom of Information request was made to the NHS Litigation Authority by doctors from two London Hospitals – St George’s and The Royal Free – and a report on the data was published in the Medico-Legal Journal.

Research in the report suggests that errors made by junior doctors and nurses were primarily to blame, and a study by the BMJ (British Medical Journal) in 2002 revealed that junior doctors in A&E were missing up to 39% of “clinically significant abnormalities” on X-rays due to inexperience. Although this led to a several NHS hospitals implementing a rule that all X-rays be reviewed by a specialist radiologist or radiographer, there are often delays owing to a shortage of radiologists available. Delays in these reviews mean that if previously unnoticed fractures are identified, they may have already begun to heal incorrectly, and delays in reporting fractures often leads to delayed treatment.

One patient, Sam Brooks, fell over in a football match aged 15 and attended Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge with severe wrist pain. Sam was given an X-Ray and doctors suspected a hairline fracture and placed Sam’s wrist in a plaster cast. However, when Sam attended hospital again two weeks later, a junior doctor examined the X-ray and concluded that there was no fracture and sent him home.

In the following two years, Sam Brook suffered increasing pain in his wrist, explaining that “even the simplest tasks, like holding a cup of tea, became extremely difficult.” Sam was referred to Peterborough City Hospital for more X-rays, which revealed that the junior doctor had read the original X-ray wrong. As a result, Sam’s fracture had not healed correctly, and he now required surgery to fuse the cracked scaphoid bone. Without surgery, Sam faced a risk of developing arthritis in the affected wrist by the age of 30.

Sam Brooks’ case demonstrates the ways in which failing to diagnose a broken or fractured bone can bring life-changing implications. Sam has described his upset at having to abandon his plans of becoming a footballer or joining the armed forces as his wrist is unable to bear much weight.

Ashwati Menon of Duncan Lewis expressed her concern:

“X-rays are of no use if they are not reviewed correctly – a wrong interpretation will result in the wrong treatment and this can alter a person’s life. If there is a shortage in radiographers then another solution should be sought so that fractures don’t continue to go undetected.”

Ashwati Menon is a Trainee Solicitor in the Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury Departments. She is experienced in assisting on numerous clinical negligence claims, including, but not limited to, orthopaedic claims, gastroenterology and cardiac related injuries.

Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors

If you have had a doctor miss a broken or fractured bone, Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors may be able to help you make a claim. The Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence team has significant experience acting in a vast array of claims including misdiagnosed fractures, accident and emergency failures, GP negligence claims, and other medical conditions and wrongful death claims. They also act for children and adults who have suffered profound and permanent brain, spinal or neurological injuries and associated disabilities as a consequence of failings in medical care in both NHS and private hospitals.

If you believe your doctor or nurse has made a mistake and wish to claim compensation or have any questions about treatment you have received, please do not hesitate to contact our team of specialist clinical negligence solicitors on 0333 772 0409.