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£120,000 settlement for delay in referring hip dysplasia baby for treatment (7 November 2014)

Date: 07/11/2014
Duncan Lewis, Personal Injury Solicitors, £120,000 settlement for delay in referring hip dysplasia baby for treatment

The High Court has approved a settlement of £120,000 for the future care of a child, whose hip dysplasia was diagnosed three months too late to enable her to have a procedure as a baby, which would have prevented further surgery.

London newspaper the Evening Standard reports that 12-year-old Chloe McCarthy was not diagnosed with the condition Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) until she was seven months’ old.

Chloe was born at Newham University Hospital in London in January 2002, but a letter inviting her to a clinic on 24 April 2002 did not arrive at the family’s home. Her family followed up the missed appointment, but another was not scheduled until 3 July that year. When Chloe attended the appointment, a further appointment for an urgent ultrasound scan should have been made, but was not scheduled until the end of July.

As a result, Chloe was not diagnosed with DDH until August 2002 – three months after she should have been diagnosed. Had she been diagnosed with DDH earlier, she could have undergone an immediate closed reduction, with the joint manipulated to align it within the socket.

After wearing an orthopaedic cast for three months, Chloe could have avoided further surgery and an anticipated hip replacement operation by the time she is 40.

Barts Health NHS Trust admitted liability for the delay in referring Chloe to the Royal London Hospital – but did not agree on the possible prognosis.

The trust decided to settle the case just weeks before the trial was due to begin, however.

The family now lives in Colchester in Essex and Chloe is suffering pain as a result of her hip dysplasia, as well as having to attend regular hospital appointments.

Her mother Dawn McCarthy said:

“The older she gets, the more debilitating the DDH is, as she cannot lead the same active lifestyle as her friends and struggles with walking distances.

“Chloe has faced dozens of hospital appointments, being in agonising pain and taking daily medication as a result of her condition; which, as a mother, is obviously very hard to watch.

“I felt let down by the hospital staff and felt that they could have done more for Chloe.

“Nothing can turn back the clock and truly make up for what she has been through – and what she will endure in the future.”

A spokesman for Barts Health NHS Trust said:

“We sincerely apologise for the delay that occurred at Newham Hospital in referring Chloe McCarthy for an appointment at the Royal London Hospital, the impact this has had on her family and the distress this has caused.”

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors – Medical Negligence Claims

Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors can advise victims of medical negligence on making no win no fee Medical Negligence Claims, including claims involving:

• Birth injuries
• Cosmetic surgery errors
• Delays in diagnosis
• Delays in referral
• Delays in treatment
• Dental negligence
• Electrolysis negligence
• Fatal injuries
• GP negligence
• Poor medical care
• Prescribing errors
• Surgical errors
• Wrong medical treatment.

Personal injury claimants have three years from the date of injury in which to make no win no fee Medical Negligence Claims – and children can make a claim until three years after the age of 18.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Medical Negligence Claims call Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.


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