Richard Malloy secures £1.5 million in missed fracture compensation for the delayed diagnosis of a scaphoid fracture, leading to multiple surgeries, permanent symptoms, and a significant impact on the claimant’s day-to-day life and ability to work.
Background
Our client attended the emergency department at Whiston Hospital (Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust) with a wrist injury. On examination of her right wrist there was said to be no swelling, no deformity and no bruising and she was diagnosed with a sprain, told to take her own pain relief and discharged back to the care of her general practitioner.
Due to ongoing pain there was a second attendance at the emergency department at Whiston Hospital with complaints of clicking and grating in the wrist. Wrist movements were reduced because of her pain. She was reviewed by a doctor who noted that she had tenderness over the scaphoid area and had crepitus.
Review of the X-ray revealed that she had non-union of the scaphoid bone. The scaphoid is a small bone in the wrist located on the thumb side. Doctors are trained to carefully check for possible fractures of this bone, because if a fractured scaphoid goes untreated, the lack of blood supply can prevent the bone from healing, which can lead to permanent disability, as happened in this case. Scaphoid fracture symptoms often mimic a simple sprain with mild swelling and tenderness. If there is any doubt, the wrist must be treated as fractured, and the patient is typically placed into a protective splint for 10–14 days and told to re-attend.
Surgery and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Our client ultimately underwent an operative procedure because the scaphoid fracture had been missed and had not healed. The scaphoid was internally fixed with a screw. Unfortunately, this procedure failed and repeated surgeries followed including bone grafting and internal fixation.
Due to extensive pain a referral was required to the Pain Clinic at Whiston Hospital leading to a diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) which was impacting on day-to-day life and employment.
Further surgeries followed including a cubital tunnel release, along with removal of the scaphoid screw, wrist four-corner fusion, removal of metalwork and eventually full wrist fusion and nerve decompression. In total 7 operations were performed.
The Claim
Richard Malloy of Gregory Abrams Davidson was instructed and, following receipt of independent evidence from a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, a Letter of Claim was served upon the Defendant Hospital Trust.
It was subsequently admitted by the Defendant that there had been a failure to assess the Claimant’s wrist at the first A&E attendance and, had they done so, this would have enabled the possibility of a fractured scaphoid being detected. The Claimant was however required to prove the extent of any injury.
The Defendant made offers to settle the claim on a full and final basis for £20,000 and then £40,000.
Court Proceedings were commenced in the High Court. Within their Defence the Defendant again admitted that the initial assessment of the injury had been negligent but put the Claimant to proof in respect of her:
- Recovery
- Requirement for operative treatment
- Significant pain and discomfort alleged
- Development of complex regional pain syndrome
- Development of ulnar neuritis
Richard instructed and obtained reports from experts in Orthopaedic Surgery, Care and Occupational Therapy, Psychiatry and Pain Management.
Following exchange of expert witness evidence the Defendant admitted that but for their failures “the Claimant would have recovered normal wrist and upper limb function with no significant symptoms after 12 months, she would have avoided surgical intervention, would not have developed complex regional pain syndrome, would have avoided the persisting non-union leading to fusion and would have avoided ulnar neuritis”.
Settlement
Interim payments were secured and arrangements were put in place for our client’s rehabilitation including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, support with day-to-day tasks as well as investigations in respect of surgical implantation of a spinal impulse generator to help control and reduce pain in the long term.
Thereafter the Parties engaged in negotiation and a settlement of £1.5 million was agreed in respect of damages, bringing the matter to a final conclusion.
The settlement amount included sums for injury, loss of earnings, loss of pension, domestic support and future rehabilitation and therapies. Further examples of missed and delayed diagnosis claims and our medical negligence case studies are available on our website.
Richard Malloy – Clinical Negligence Solicitor
Richard is a highly experienced medical negligence solicitor based in Liverpool, with close to 20 years’ experience representing victims of medical negligence. Over the course of his career, he has recovered tens of millions of pounds in compensation for clients whose lives have been devastated by failings in medical care.
Richard is regularly instructed in catastrophic injury claims, acting for children who have suffered severe injuries at or around birth resulting in profound disabilities and complex, lifelong care needs. He also represents adults who have sustained serious injuries due to surgical errors, hospital delays, and failures to correctly interpret or act upon medical results and scans—often leaving them unable to work and requiring lifelong support.
He has successfully concluded hundreds of claims against NHS and private hospitals, as well as General Practitioners, dentists, and opticians.
In catastrophic injury cases, Richard works closely with a multidisciplinary team of experts, including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, assistive technology specialists, case managers, architects, and specialist support workers. This enables him to put in place—at the earliest opportunity—comprehensive care, therapy, and accommodation packages. These arrangements are vital not only for injured clients, but also for their families, who have often assumed the role of full-time carers.
Gregory Abrams Davidson’s medical negligence team acts for clients treated at hospitals across Liverpool, Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales. If a fracture or other injury was missed at an A&E department in the region and you have been left with ongoing problems, you can contact the team at our Liverpool office here.
