Our client Nigel was 36 years old when he sustained a fracture to his left ankle as a result of a fall in February 2009. He was taken to the A&E department at Airedale General Hospital, where the fracture and dislocation of the left ankle was diagnosed. The hospital decided not to perform surgery as the ankle was too swollen, instead his ankle was put into a cast.
Nigel attended numerous follow up appointments at the Airedale General Hospital over the next four months. The hospital were pleased that the fracture was healing and provided Nigel with an air cast boot support so that he could begin to fully weight bear. During this time, Nigel was still in a lot of pain and had to take time off of work.
Nigel’s ankle remained swollen and painful when he went for more X-rays in January 2010, the results showed that the ankle was malformed. During the previous X-rays the results had been misread and Nigel never should have been given the advice to weight bear. In June 2010, Nigel underwent further surgery to try to fuse the damaged ankle, recent X-rays have indicated that that there is some unification but recovery continues to be slow.
Nigel continues to experience pain when walking, he can no longer climb stairs and he’s had to take a long period of time off work to recover from his injuries.
Sarah Coles from our
Clinical Negligence Team in Leeds helped Nigel pursue a claim of medical negligence against the Trust. The Trust made an early admission following investigations into Nigel’s condition and made an offer of £58,000 to compensate for the pain and suffering he underwent as a result of the negligence.
Sarah said “Nigel has and continues to suffer a great deal of pain as a result of the Trusts delay in treatment. He has had to undergo further surgery and this has had a big impact on all aspects of his life. It’s just hoped that this sort of error can be avoided in the future, so others do not have to go through what my client has.”
If you or a loved one has suffered as a result of hospital negligence, we may be able to help you claim compensation. See our Medical Negligence Guide for more information.
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