A man in his 30s who endured two years of pain following delayed diagnosis of a scaphoid fracture has been awarded £18,000 in compensation.
The delay in diagnosis and treatment resulted in the man struggling to continue in his manual labour job due to loss of grip and movement. By the time of diagnosis, the delay meant he required invasive bone grafting surgery and has been left with scarring to his hip and wrist.
He sought the help of specialist medical solicitor, Lyndsey Taylor of Medical Solicitors’ York office, to bring a medical negligence claim for his injuries.
Case summary
In December 2019, the claimant ‘C’ fell while playing football. He landed on an outstretched hand and another player landed on his wrist.
Four days after the incident, C went to his local emergency department with swelling and poor range of movement to his wrist. He also had pain at the base of his thumb and couldn’t fully straighten or clench his fingers.
X-rays were taken but no scaphoid views were done. C was discharged the same night with a soft tissue injury as the x-ray was normal with no bony injury.
By August 2021 – 18 months later – C was still struggling to flex or extend his wrist. He couldn’t grip properly and was in constant pain. His wrist had periods of swelling and he’d not seen any benefit from wearing a wrist support. His ongoing symptoms had impacted his heavy manual job.
Following a telephone consultation with his GP, C was referred to the orthopaedic team. C was seen by a hand a wrist surgeon who took wrist instability views and an MRI. Another x-ray was performed which showed a fracture to the scaphoid bone.
C underwent surgery in January 2022, more than two years after the initial injury. He needed a bone graft from his hip followed by a plaster cast and physiotherapy.
Litigation
In the Letter of Response, the defendant admitted a failure to consider a scaphoid fracture and arrange for formal x-rays. Even if normal, the wrist should have been immobilised with more x-rays requested two weeks later.
Had this been done, C would have had the option to avoid open surgery; he could have opted for conservative management via a plaster cast or screw fixation. If the scaphoid fracture had been diagnosed when C presented at hospital in December 2019, C would have avoided additional pain and suffering, surgery and scarring to his wrist and hip, as a result of the skin graft.
The claim settled in August 2024 for £18,000, the majority of which was general damages for C’s pain an suffering.