Bradford Man Forced To Have Amputation After Medical Error

28 Jan 2010

A leading medical negligence solicitor from Irwin Mitchell is reporting a Leeds surgeon to the General Medical Council after a 21-year-old man was forced to have his leg amputated when the doctor failed to correctly monitor his injury.

Irwin Mitchell is representing Simon Aitcheson from Bradford who now has long term mobility problems. He will need further care, an adapted property and a special prosthesis.

The consultant who treated Mr Aitcheson has been suspended and is under investigation by the medical authorities.

Simon was admitted to Leeds General Infirmary in June 2008 for an operation to correct a three centimetre length discrepancy with his left leg and a foot deformity using a Taylor Spatial fixator frame.

Simon’s surgeon, Toby Branfoot, failed to treat him correctly and Mr Aitcheson was forced to have a leg amputated.

The Clinical Negligence team at Irwin Mitchell is also speaking to another patient who needs revision surgery due to treatment by the same surgeon and is currently awaiting independent medical evidence.

Mr Branfoot has been suspended from Leeds General Infirmary and is awaiting an assessment of his competence by the Royal College of Surgeons.

Rachelle Mahapatra, head of the medical law team in Irwin Mitchell’s Leeds office, said:

“Simon has lost his leg unnecessarily due to the failure to appreciate the significance of the findings on x-rays following the wrong use of a frame. Due to the way the frame was turned as part of the leg lengthening procedure they were in fact causing a progressive deformity to the bones in the foot. That led to skin breakdown and infection and the disruption was so significant by the time he was independently reviewed they could not save his leg.

“The amputation is an unnecessary tragedy which will affect his personal and professional life and is likely to cause further medical problems as he grows older”.

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