Delayed diagnosis of a hip fracture
Bill’s leg gave way whilst he was walking his dog. He went to his local Accident and Emergency department. He was assessed, however, no x-rays were arranged and no diagnosis was recorded. He was sent home with painkillers and referred to his GP.
Bill returned to his GP who referred him back to a consultant orthopaedic surgeon. He was immediately sent for X-ray and diagnosed with an inter-trochanteric fracture of his hip. He was admitted to hospital urgently for surgery.
As a result of the delayed diagnosis of the fracture, Bill required a femoral osteotomy which is more complicated surgery than he would have needed had his diagnosis and surgery not been delayed by more than 3 weeks.
As a result of the delay, he suffered from unnecessary severe pain and has been left with a permanent leg length discrepancy for which he requires a shoe raise of approximately 20mm.
One of our medical negligence lawyers helped Bill recover compensation for the delayed diagnosis.
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