We helped Lottie get a substantial six-figure settlement after a radiologist failed to notice a large bone fracture. The settlement came after a different firm advised her to accept sum which would have represented a significant undervalue of her medical negligence claim.
What happened to Lottie?
Lottie injured her right knee in a skiing accident in December 2017. When she returned to the UK, she was seen at the Conquest Hospital and had a scan in January 2018. During the scan, the consultant radiologist failed to diagnose a large bone fracture in her right knee.
Lottie was then seen in clinic between January and April 2018 by a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, who treated her for ligament damage. On every occasion, Lottie complained about pain, swelling, and issues with straightening her knee.
In May, Lottie and her family decided to get a second opinion. A consultant reviewed her original MRI scan and noticed an avulsion fracture which had been missed in her knee and was causing the pain. Lottie had a follow-up X-ray that confirmed the diagnosis.
How did this impact Lottie?
The failure by the original radiologist meant Lottie’s knee injury went untreated. The delay in diagnosis meant that Lottie had missed the window of opportunity to have surgery to permanently repair the damage. Had this taken place, it would have been likely that her knee injury would have been cured, and she would have suffered no long-term consequences.
Sadly, because of the admitted delay in diagnosis and treatment, Lottie suffered from significant and ongoing pain with her knee. These symptoms impacted her on a daily basis, and she required multiple unnecessary surgeries during the lifetime of her case.
Lottie now faces the need for future knee surgeries and knee replacements for the rest of her life.
Consequently, Lottie had to give up her part-time weekend work and delay going to university by two years, which has meant that her graduation and entry into the workforce has avoidably been delayed.
As she suffers with significant daily pain and restricted movement, Lottie has required and continues to require significant rehabilitative physiotherapy and treatments to cope with the consequences of her injuries. She couldn’t continue her passion of sailing with her father and became increasingly depressed by the outcomes she had suffered.
How did Irwin Mitchell help Lottie?
Lottie originally used another law firm to pursue her medical negligence claim. The firm advised Lottie to use an orthopaedic expert who was employed by the Defendant Trust to act as a medical expert in her case.
Following receipt of interim damages, the firm advised Lottie to undergo privately paying knee surgery under his care. It’s prohibited for a medical expert in a legal case to operate on a Claimant where they are acting as an independent expert. This decision created an unavoidable conflict of interest, which would impact on the case had it proceeded to Trial.
Whilst the case was ongoing with Lottie’s previous solicitors, the Defendant made an offer of settlement. The offer would represent a settlement at a significant undervalue and didn’t take into consideration Lottie’s lifetime needs for surgeries, therapy and treatment. Lottie was advised to accept this sum.
Lottie began to question whether this was the right firm to use, and she was unhappy with the service provided. She therefore approached our medical negligence team to see if we could take over her claim.
In August 2021, Thomas Riis-Bristow, a senior associate solicitor in our London medical negligence team, took over Lottie’s claim.
Thomas reviewed the treatment Lottie received and evidence gathered to date. Due to the conflict of interest with the previously instructed orthopaedic expert, Thomas dismissed all medical experts instructed by Lotties previous law firm.
Because of his expertise with orthopaedic injury cases, Thomas considered that the injuries Lottie sustained may be both long standing and have long-term consequences for knee surgeries. He instructed new independent experts to examine all aspects of her care and the consequences.
The experts included a:
- Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
- Consultant Peripheral Nerve Surgeon
- Consultant in Pain Medicine and Anaesthetics
- Consultant Psychiatrist
- Consultant Physiotherapist
- Care and Occupational Therapist.
These independent experts helped place a more accurate value on Lottie’s claim, making sure she got the compensation she deserved.
Crucially, Lottie’s new orthopaedic expert assessed the case and confirmed Thomas’ suspicions that Lottie had more significant and long-term injuries. These hadn’t been considered by the orthopaedic surgeon acting under the instructions of her previous solicitors.
Thomas managed to secure Lottie a six-figure settlement for the earlier failure to diagnose the bone fracture in her right knee. Lottie will use the compensation to pay for:
- All required future knee surgeries, including knee replacements and knee revision surgeries on a private basis
- Ongoing treatment and support, including care and assistance
- Occupational therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Aids and equipment
- Transportation.
Expert opinion
On Lottie’s claim, Thomas said: “The failure by the radiologist who missed Lottie’s bone fracture caused her avoidable stress and pain.
“She was then let down by another firm who instructed a conflicted medical expert and advised her to accept an extremely low offer, presumably based on his evidence that advised there would be no long-term consequences of her primary knee injury and its misdiagnosis.
“We were able to use our expertise to appropriately assess her case with carefully selected independent experts to make sure she received a compensation that accurately reflected her injuries and the impact on her life.
“This case is a key example of the importance of carefully selecting solicitors to act in your case who can provide expert advice and assistance to achieve the best possible outcomes for your long-term needs.
“Lottie can now begin to focus on making the best possible recovery, using her compensation to fund ongoing support and care.”
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