Simon, 28

JMW helped a man to recover £4,000 in compensation after his wrist fracture was missed during an X-ray, leading to permanent mobility issues.

Simon, 28, suffered pain and discomfort and was left with restricted movement after hospital doctors failed to diagnose a fracture in his wrist. Nicholas Young, one of the specialist solicitors at JMW, secured him £4,000 in compensation.

Fracture missed during an X-ray

Simon’s problems began when he injured himself in an accident that resulted in him being taken to hospital by ambulance. Once there, X-rays were used to check for broken and fractured bones, revealing several fractures in his hands and his right leg.

Simon underwent surgery to address the fracture in his leg and screws were put in place to hold it together. One of his thumbs was heavily strapped and monitored, while other fractures were treated more conservatively.

Simon was discharged a couple of weeks later and a plan was made for outpatient reviews and further X-rays to monitor how the fractures were healing; results from these assessments indicated that all of the known fractures were healing in a satisfactory position.

Wrist issues lead to a further X-ray

However, almost a month later, a further X-ray revealed some abnormalities in Simon’s left wrist, and he also noticed restricted movement in the joint. He was readmitted to hospital for a procedure to address the problem and a wrist fracture was belatedly identified, resulting in the wrist being put in a splint. Simon continued to rely on the splint for support for the next few months while struggling to grip items with his left hand.

Letter to the hospital confirms negligence

Simon wrote a letter to the hospital to complain about the treatment he had received, as he felt doctors had failed to properly diagnose the injury to his wrist at the time of the accident.

The hospital’s response confirmed Simon’s suspicions. It stated that the seriousness of the fracture to his left wrist was not identified at the time of his injury, making it unlikely that he would ever regain full movement in the joint due to the severity of the initial injury and the delay in treatment.

Compensation

After the case was taken on by the medical negligence experts at JMW, compensation totalling £100,000 was secured to help Simon to cope with his disability.