Misdiagnosis of a broken ankle for 7 weeks

[helenram]

Afternoon everyone! It's my folk's wedding anniversary and unfortunately they've spent it in a fracture clinic, 7 weeks too late! I wonder if anyone cna help:

 

May9th (ish) - My mum fell down the stairs, twisted one ankle and cut the other. It was quite bad so my dad took her to A&E

 

At A&E they x-rayed her foot, dressed it and said she hadn't borken it, simply torn some ligaments and she should be okay after rest.

 

 

June 24th Mum gets a phone call from our local surgery. It turns out that the original X-ray does indeed show a break and she should visit the fracture clinic.

 

Obviously we want to make a complaint. I could understand a delay of a ocuple of days or if the original x-ray didn't show a break (some ankle cases can be tricky), however it did which means:

 

1. someone missed it

2. she shouldn't have been dis-charged

3. why on earth are they only informing us after 7 weeks?

 

Has anyone had similar experiences and can anyone advise our next steps.

 

My mum is furious as she now has a half cast for 8 weeks and is flying to canada next Tuesday.

 

My mum is very angry and emotional and talking about suing, but I don't want her to get so angry that she uses a no-win no fee company or makes a mistake in the claim process which might harm her case in the future.

 

any help or advice is greatly appreciated

 

I'm also worried about files going "missing" are the NHS liable under the data protection? Can we find out the exact chain of events that led to this balls up?

 

Thank you so much!

[Bookworm]

Freedom of Information - NHS

 

As for the "exact" chain of events, I doubt you'll ever find out exactly.

 

But you should definitely go after them for it, it is just unforgivable. How your mum managed to walk on a broken ankle too...

 

There's also the fact that the fracture would have started knitting together unsupported and in a worst case scenario, they could end up having to re-break the ankle to reset it properly, so you definitely want to keep an eye on that and make sure they are doing the right thing now.

 

As for flying to Canada, make sure she gets the ok from her GP and gets a written fitness to fly certificate, depending on her age and general health, he might advise against it. Bear in mind that she will not be able to fly in her normal seat and will need to have the cast split (because of the swelling of the limb during the flight) and will need an extra 2 seats to keep her leg elevated during flight, so you have to think of that too, and realistically, wheelchair assistance should be organised to help at the airport both ends.

 

I'm sorry to break it to you, but you might want to prepare Mum for the fact that she may well not be able to go next week.

[helenram]

Thank you for that quick response. She told the fracture clinic about her flying and they seemed ot think it would be okay - she has a half cast on which can be removed for the flight, but i will let her know alos about the fitness to fly certificate - what is this for? to allow her on the plane?

 

I am concerned about her, but she is incredibly stubborn and I know she will be determined to go to Canada with my dad.

 

Thank you for your help, if anyone has any information about the best way to make a complaint or indeed look for compensation I would love to hear it. Thank you!

[Bookworm]

The fracture clinic are unlikely to know about airline rules. ;-) FTF certif, yes, it's to show that her GP is happy for her to travel, although if the airline refuses to let her on for whatever reason, they can completely do so and the FTF certif won't make a difference... but it will if they ask her for one and she doesn't have it.

 

Also be aware that if something goes wrong with her ankle while she's in Canada, her travel insurance is unlikely to cover anything pre-existing, from dr's visits to seats on the plane, so you need to think about that too.

 

I would strongly recommend calling the airline and asking them what their policy is on the subject, just in case.

 

Sorry I can't help with the compensation side of things, but flying with injuries, that I do know about!!! ;-)

[poppynurse]

Oh dear oh dear, the hospital seems to have screwed up here!

 

To claim for negligence you need to prove:

duty of care - easy to prove

failure of that duty - missing a fracture for seven weeks would appear to qualify (all A&E xrays should be checked by the radiographer within a day or so to verify the dr's diagnosis, some fractures are incredibly difficult to see, the test here would be if a reasonable A&E dr would have spotted the fracture, and if their system for xray review is robust and the radiographer should have spotted it within a day or so; if it is a very minor fracture and a reasonable radiographer could have missed it this test will fail)

harm resulting - if she is likely to suffer ongoing problems or has to miss her trip then you may meet this criteria.

 

This is not something you should really tackle without a specialist solicitor - the NHS will use experts, clinical negligence claims are hard to win and you need to make sure you are in with a fighting chance.

 

You can request a copy of the medical notes, but make sure you specifically ask for it to include A&E notes as these are often kept seperate. You can also involve PALS to get some answers. You can write to the Chief Executive documenting your complaint and asking for redress.

[helenram]

Thank you for all of those! mum has made a complaint through PALS, she's getting her fit to fly certificate tomorrow, has booked extra legroom and arranged for wheelchair assitance at both ends of check in. She's also checked with her travel insurance company and she is still covered so hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) things should be okay. Will wait to hear what the CEO says about the complaint and hopefully they don't just try and brush it under the carpet. I don't really want my mum to have to make a long and involved claim, she'll be 65 next month (but looks about 50! she's extremely fit and active which is why this is so upsettiing - it's ruined her summer) and i don't want it hanging over her, the value of a claim is probably not worth the further hassles and emotional distress, btu we shall see.

 

thank you again - I will keep you posted!

[fe_dup_1]

My friends son had a broken arm misdiagnosed. THey told him it was fractured after he was still in pain after 7 months. He had a small operation to insert a pin under local anaesthetic and it's now healing well.

 

But she hasn't said anything about wanting to sue the hospital, claim compensation, etc.

 

Why is there always this requirement for compensation when mistakes happen????

 

Are we becoming America ???? It really p***es me off

[Alipeeps]

Something similar happened to my mum years ago - she stepped awkwardly off a kerb and thought she'd just badly sprained her ankle and A&E agreed with her - but they called her just days later to say they'd checked the x-ray and found it was fractured and that she'd need to come back in and have a cast put on.

 

I understand that fine fractures such as these can be very difficult to see on x-ray and really the chances of damage being caused by not having it in a cast are minimal (my mum was quite reluctant to have a cast but their attitude (once they knew it was a fracture) was better safe than sorry - also, a cast is as much about preventing pain (due to the joint moving more than is advisable or accidentally being knocked etc) as damage) but I do have to wonder why it took them 7 weeks to realise and to inform your mum that is was fractured. That's the part that seems unprofessional/of concern to me...

[miziwizzi]

My friends son had a broken arm misdiagnosed. THey told him it was fractured after he was still in pain after 7 months. He had a small operation to insert a pin under local anaesthetic and it's now healing well.

 

But she hasn't said anything about wanting to sue the hospital, claim compensation, etc.

 

Why is there always this requirement for compensation when mistakes happen????

 

Are we becoming America ???? It really p***es me off

 

 

 

I could not agree more, putting in claims only takes money out of the NHS which in turn makes for a worse service for all.

 

I personally feel that unless a mistake means you will need permanent care or similar it should just be left.

[heartopp]

I could not agree more, putting in claims only takes money out of the NHS which in turn makes for a worse service for all.

 

I personally feel that unless a mistake means you will need permanent care or similar it should just be left.

 

here here!

[Bazooka Boo]

I must concur with miziwizi & heartopp, we still have a National Health Service which is by all accounts free..unlike America.. where you pay for your treatment and would quite rightly be expected if not encouraged to sue for any maladministration or negligence. Yes you may be angry that the original X-ray, when examined, missed the fracture. But to now start talking about dragging someone over the coals for it is proposterous, I agree make your feelings known, and make them known to the right people, not some judge or a couple of barristers who have no insight into the profession, but you shouldn't attempt to sue them, if you do and it fails (V.Likely) not only will you have a bitter taste to swallow but a very large legal bill to pay off aswell!