Missed or
Undiagnosed Fractures

A missed fracture starts with an Orthopaedic injury. The individual often seeks medical assistance at A&E or with their GP or local community health centre.

If you initially go to your GP, they are the ones responsible for examining you appropriately and referring you to a specialist for any further tests/ assessments or else directing you straight to A&E. On attendance at A&E, the treating medical professional has a duty to carry out the appropriate physical examination, diagnose any injury and treat accordingly.

If during any of these stages appropriate examinations aren’t carried out or things are incorrectly diagnosed, you could end up with a misdiagnosis that sets you on the path to the wrong treatment method or else end up with a missed fracture meaning medical negligence has potentially occurred.

Some common examples missed fracture negligence can include:

• failure to complete x-ray image
• failure to not examine correctly
• failure to read or report upon x-ray imaging correctly

If you have suffered due to a missed fracture, then you may be able to claim for the following:

• Avoidable pain and Suffering
• Any avoidable loss of earnings as a result of the missed fracture
• Further surgery or treatment that may be required which would have been avoidable
• Psychiatric harm

Healthcare professionals have a duty of care to their patients and a responsibility to provide prompt and effective treatment. If your fracture was missed at x-ray and then worsened, this may constitute medical negligence and you may be entitled to compensation.

Here at Oakwood Solicitors, we have firsthand experience in dealing with people whose lives have been changed by medical negligence. Bringing a missed fracture claim has allowed our clients to receive the financial support that is needed to aid in their recovery and subsequent treatment.

If you feel that you have suffered as a result of a misdiagnosis or delay in referral from a GP or Hospital, you may be entitled to bring a claim.

If you have personally suffered the negligence, you may bring about a claim in your own right. However, it may also be the case that the person who has suffered has passed away or they may be unable to bring about a claim themselves as they no longer have capacity.

In such circumstances, a claim can be brought about on their behalf either by an appropriate person or litigation friend if the individual is still with us, or by the executor of the estate of surviving dependant if they have passed.

Our team will be able to assess on the prospects of your case and whether you would be eligible to make a claim.

Claims of this nature are subject to a three year limitation period. This means that claims have to be commenced within the Courts in three years of rather the date the negligent act occurred or the date you became aware that negligence had occurred.

In cases involving deceased victims, this limitation period commences from the date of death and in cases involving minors, the limitation period starts when they reach their 18th birthday.

The law surrounding limitation periods is complex. Our specialist team will be able to advise further.

Given the complexities involved in pursuing Dental Negligence claims, they can often take 18-24 months to conclude and longer if Court proceedings have to be issued. Our investigations start by obtaining all relevant records and protocols before approaching independent medical experts for their opinion.

We will provide you with regular updates on the progress of your case to ensure that you are kept informed.

It is often difficult to value Negligence claims at their outset given the complexities involved. However, we will pursue two forms of compensation for you:

General damages – An award of money for the pain and suffering you have endured as a result of the negligence.

Special damages – An award for all of your out of pocket expenses such as travel expenses, medication costs, loss of earnings, treatment costs both past and future.

This list is not exhaustive and is very case-specific.

We have a dedicated team of solicitors and paralegals who have many years’ experience between them in running cases of this nature. They are highly trained to deal with all aspects of clinical and medical negligence.

Oakwood Solicitors Ltd wishes to ensure that clients are not overwhelmed by legal jargon or medical terms that they don’t understand and aims to allow the claims procedure to be as transparent as possible.

For some examples of successful cases and claim amounts awarded, read the case studies featured here.