Ben, aged 20

Ben had to undergo a full hip replacement after a GP failed to refer him to hospital when he attended an appointment with symptoms of a recognised hip condition that affects young people. The failure meant Ben missed the opportunity to have earlier and less invasive treatment and suffered damage to his hip joint that will affect him for the rest of his life.

Madeleine Langmead, a specialist medical negligence solicitor at JMW, was successful in securing £510,000 in compensation for Ben for his pain and suffering and the potential future impact on his life.

First signs

A clear issue with Ben’s hip first came to light when he woke up one morning with severe pain that was so bad he couldn’t get out of bed. Ben was unable to put any weight on his leg and so stayed at home for two days. After this Ben tried to mobilise again but was limping and had to take painkillers regularly.

Due to the lack of improvement he made an appointment to see his GP. The GP examined Ben and gave him a prescription for an anti-inflammatory gel. The doctor did not refer Ben to hospital or consider that he might be suffering from a slipped upper femoral epiphysis (SUFE), a hip injury most commonly affecting teenagers and young people.

The gel made no difference to Ben’s pain and he tried to get another GP appointment the following week but was told none were available in the run-up to Christmas. In the meantime he stopped playing sports and tried to walk about as best he could even though this was very difficult.

It was during one of these attempts at walking a couple of months later that Ben felt his hip pop, causing him to collapse on the floor. He was taken to hospital by ambulance. X-rays revealed a severe SUFE and the following day Ben underwent surgery.

However, due to the length of time that the SUFE had gone untreated, the bone had started to die due to its blood supply being partially cut off and this caused the operation to be more complex. Ben was told that we would likely need a full hip replacement at some point.

The following year, after months of little improvement to his pain and loss of mobility, Ben was admitted to hospital for the hip replacement. He has been told by doctors that he will require three revision hip replacements later in life and is no longer able to participate in the sports he used to enjoy or run.

JMW’s investigation

Ben and his family were very concerned that he had consulted a GP when his symptoms started yet he hadn’t been referred to hospital for investigations. They felt that his hip would not have ended up in as severe a condition if the GP had recognised the signs of SUFE and taken appropriate action. After researching specialist solicitors online who could help them to challenge this poor care they were put in touch with the medical negligence team at JMW.

Our team carried out an extensive investigation into Ben’s care after accepting his case on a ‘no win, no fee agreement’. We commissioned leading medical experts with specialist expertise in the fields of GP practice and orthopaedics who agreed it had been negligent of Ben’s GP not to refer him to hospital and that without this error Ben would have had prompt treatment and a far better outcome.

We supported Ben and his family throughout this process and handled all dealings with the GP’s legal team and built a strong case on their behalf.