‘Tom’, 28

Bryony Doyle, a specialist medical negligence solicitor at JMW, represented ‘Tom’ in a legal battle over a   failure to diagnose a scaphoid fracture in his wrist which meant the injury went untreated. Bryony supported Tom in his claim against his GP and hospital and was successful in obtaining £60,000 in compensation for him.

GP and hospital errors 

Tom injured his right wrist whilst playing football. He had been saving a goal when his hand bent backwards. Tom, who is right-handed, felt instant pain in his wrist. 

The next day Tom was still in significant pain so attended his GP surgery to have it looked at by a doctor. The GP examined Tom but despite him relaying how the injury happened, did not suspect a fracture of the scaphoid bone in the wrist. Scaphoid fractures often occur in people who suffer injuries such as Tom’s while playing sports and JMW has handled numerous other cases that occurred in similar circumstances 

The GP sent Tom to hospital for an x-ray of his wrist but as a result of her not recognising that there could be a scaphoid fracture, did not highlight this to the hospital or request an x-ray of the scaphoid bone.  

Despite this negligence from the GP, Tom’s scaphoid fracture was visible on the x-ray that was carried out at the hospital and should still have been identified. However, this was not done and Tom was advised that he had suffered ligament damage but did not have any fractures.

No improvement 

Tom was still in pain three months later and was finding it difficult to work as he has a manual job. Tom went back to his GP and was advised that it could take up to six to seven months to recover. 

More time passed but Tom’s wrist did not improve. He returned to his GP surgery and was referred to the fracture clinic, where he underwent a further x-ray. His second x-ray was compared to the original which revealed that a fracture was clearly present but had been missed and reported incorrectly on his original x-ray. By this stage, it had been 18 months since Tom’s original injury.

Had Tom’s fracture been identified at the time, he could have been treated with a cast and avoided surgery. He would have recovered and regained around 80 per cent movement in his wrist. However, due to the length of time that his injury had gone undiagnosed, his wrist had formed a non-union fracture, which meant that his bone did not heal. 

Tom was offered surgery which would improve his pain but would be unlikely to improve his range of movement. Tom underwent surgery, which included metal plates and a bone graft, however, he has been left with stiffness and limited movement in the wrist, which makes working and daily tasks more challenging. 

Successful medical negligence case

Tom was concerned that the hospital had not suspected a scaphoid fracture which meant that his injury went untreated for over a year. After getting in touch with JMW’s specialist medical negligence team his case was taken on by solicitor Bryony Doyle. Bryony claimed that his GP had also failed to suspect a scaphoid fracture and that scaphoid view x-rays should have been requested. It was further claimed that the hospital had negligently failed to report the fracture on the initial x-ray and had the fracture been identified sooner, Tom would have had an improved outcome. 

Both the hospital trust and GP denied they were responsible for Tom’s poor outcome. However, despite this, Bryony was able to prove that Tom’s GP surgery failed to suspect he had a scaphoid fracture given the nature of the injury and location of his pain, which would have prompted a request for scaphoid x-rays. Bryony also argued that the hospital failed to accurately report the findings on the x-ray and had it done so, Tom’s injury would have been treated sooner and he would have avoided losing movement in his right wrist.

Bryony entered into negotiations with the GP and the hospital trust and they agreed to pay him £60,000 in compensation. 

Bryony Doyle, a specialist medical negligence solicitor at JMW who represented Tom, said: