Hayley, 19

Nineteen-year-old Hayley will need hip replacements when she is in her 40s, followed by revision operations on each hip later in life, due to a delay in diagnosing a hip injury sustained when she fell off her horse. After her family contacted the specialist medical negligence solicitors at JMW for help, Hayley was awarded £120,000 in compensation. 

Fall from horse 

After suffering a nasty fall from her horse, Hayley initially was found to have injured her shoulder. However, a month later she started to complain of pain in her hip and attended her GP who diagnosed inflammation and swelling and prescribed ibuprofen and paracetamol.

Hayley’s condition continued to deteriorate and a few months later she was in such pain that she attended A&E. An X-Ray was carried out but no abnormalities were identified. Over the next six months, Hayley continued to attend her GP regularly due to the ongoing hip pain she was experiencing.

Concerns

Hayley’s GP referred her to a physiotherapist and after an initial assessment he was very concerned about her hip problems and advised her to attend A&E. An X-Ray at A&E revealed her thigh bone had slipped out of place. 

Due to failures on the part of the hospital doctors who carried out the previous X-Ray and Hayley’s GP, there had been a long delay in diagnosis. This meant that opportunities to treat Hayley’s hip had been missed and she endured avoidable pain and suffering, required unnecessary surgery and in the future will require a full hip replacement and two revision operations on each hip to ensure her mobility. 

Successful clinical negligence claim

Hayley’s family contacted the specialist medical negligence solicitors at JMW for advice and the case was taken on by partner Sally Leonards. Sally investigated the care provided and found serious and avoidable errors.

Sally obtained an admission of negligence from the GP concerned and the hospital trust. This paved the way for £120,000 in compensation to be awarded to Hayley for her pain and suffering and to cover the cost of past and future care and assistance, future loss of earnings, future treatment, aids and equipment and travel expenses.