I Was Further Injured Due To Delayed Broken Arm Surgery – How Do I Claim?

I Was Injured Due To Delayed Broken Arm Surgery - How Do I Claim

I Was Injured Due To Delayed Broken Arm Surgery – How Do I Claim

This guide will look at who could claim compensation if avoidably injured because of delayed broken arm surgery. Suffering a broken arm can be a painful and debilitating experience. However, it is possible for the injury to get worse if it does not receive the correct diagnosis and treatment. You may suffer unnecessary complications if you experience delayed treatment for a broken arm.

If your broken arm was not treated properly due to negligence, causing avoidable injuries, you could make a medical negligence compensation claim. At Medical Negligence Assist’s panel of solicitors have solid experience helping claimants like you get the compensation they deserve. Moreover, you can make a No Win No Fee claim, so there is no upfront solicitor’s fee.

Please use the contact details below to make your enquiry:

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Delayed Broken Arm Surgery Claims – An Overview

When a medical professional agrees to treat a patient, they become responsible for that patient and the care they receive. They now have a duty of care not to cause avoidable harm by deviating from professional standards.

To be able to make a claim for the suffering caused by delayed broken arm surgery, the criteria below will apply:

  1. You were owed a duty of care by a medical practitioner,
  2. You received substandard care which breached the duty of care owed to you,
  3. And this led to avoidable harm.

If you have experienced hospital negligence, you may be curious as to whether you can make a medical negligence compensation claim. Our claims team are on hand now to take your call and assess your claim. If they can see that you have a strong and valid case for negligence compensation, they can ask one of our No Win No Fee solicitors to take a look at your case.

What Is Medical Negligence?

All medical practitioners owe their patients a duty of care. In other words, practitioners must provide their patients with an adequate standard of care. If the patient receives substandard care, the practitioner may have breached their duty of care.

So if your arm surgery was delayed because of negligence, i.e. a failure to read the X-ray correctly when it showed that surgery was needed to repair the arm, and this harmed you further, please get in touch with Medical Negligence Assist today. Medical negligence claims can be against the NHS  or a private healthcare provider that treated you.

Treatment For A Broken Arm

Normally if a patient goes to the hospital with the symptoms of a broken arm, the doctors will use an x-ray or CT scan to confirm the injuries. After a broken arm has been diagnosed, the bone may be set, immobilised in a cast or using other devices. So the bones will “knit” in the correct position. Sometimes a patient will need physiotherapy to regain their mobility.

If the broken arm injury is serious, the patient may undergo surgery. If a broken arm is not treated properly, or the patient experiences delayed treatment, i.e. surgery for a broken arm, the patient could develop the following complications:

  • Osteoarthritis can lead to joint problems causing pain and discomfort.
  • Osteomyelitis: The bone can become infected, which can cause gangrene.
  • Compartment syndrome can result in permanent muscle damage or nerve damage.
  • Avascular necrosis, which cuts off blood supply to the bone.
  • Fat embolism: Fat particles block the bloodstream, which can cut off a vital organ. This can be life-threatening.

Delayed Surgery For A Broken Arm:  Case Study

Mr K suffered a broken ulna bone injury which required surgery. Unfortunately, the hospital department made multiple administrative errors. Therefore, the operation was delayed unnecessarily. Consequently, Mr K developed osteoarthritis as a complication. The condition causes him ongoing pain and reduced mobility.

Unfortunately, Mr K also had to leave his job and retrain for a new role. Mr K made a clinical negligence claim. He received general damage compensation for his injuries caused by the negligence and special damage compensation to cover his financial losses—namely, the loss of income he experienced.

Broken Bone Statistics

NHS Digital provides us with the number of admissions to NHS hospitals during 2016-17 caused by a broken bone:

  • 46, 304 – hospital admissions for a fracture of the shoulder or upper arm
  • 63, 503 – hospital admissions for a fracture of the forearm
  • 39, 985 – hospital admissions for a fracture of the wrist or hand

The statistics help us understand how prevalent broken arm injuries are in the UK.

How To Claim For Delayed Treatment For A Broken Bone

To claim compensation for harm caused by delayed treatment for a broken arm, the onus will be on you to prove medical negligence. Above, we have explained the criteria that must be met in order to claim.

You will also need to provide proof of medical negligence. This will mean showing how the delayed treatment was caused by a breach of the duty of care and how this delay harmed you. Not all delayed surgeries will be caused by substandard care, so it is important to show why you consider the delay to be a breach of the duty you are owed.

Collecting evidence as you go along is vital to your claim. For example:

  • Medical records that show why the delay happened.
  • Medical records that show what harm the delay caused that could have been avoided.
  • A diary of day-to-day activities that have been made difficult
  • Proof of loss of earnings and other financial losses caused by medical negligence.

Medical negligence claims time limits need to be adhered to when beginning a claim. Normally your time limit will be three years to initiate a medical negligence claim. There are, however, exceptions to this rule.

You can seek free legal advice about claiming compensation today. Please get in touch with Medical Negligence Assist to see if you can claim.

Payouts For Delayed Broken Arm Surgery

If you receive compensation for delayed fracture diagnosis or delayed broken arm surgery, your compensation payment can include up to two heads of claim.

You can receive general damage compensation for the physical and mental harm the medical negligence caused. Moreover, you can receive a special damage payment to reimburse you for necessary costs that resulted from the avoidable harm. Including compensation for loss of income after your injuries.

Instead of using a medical negligence compensation calculator, you can look up your injuries in our compensation table. The table should let you know how much compensation you could potentially claim in general damages. The compensation brackets are based on guidelines from the Judicial College (16th edition released 2022).

Solicitors use the guidelines to value claims. However, if you receive compensation, the payment may differ from what you see in the table. So, please also consider calling Medical Negligence Assist’s helpline to have your claim valued. Please note we have not included special damages in the table.

Type Of InjuryNature Of The InjuryNotesJC Brackets
Other Arm InjuriesA - Severe InjuriesExtremely serious degrees of arm injuries which do fall short of amputation.£96,160 to £130,930
B - Injuries Leading To Permanent And substantial DisabilitySerious fractures of one or both forearms. There is a permanent residual disability.£39,170 to £59,860
C - Less SevereOn the outset significant disabilities but a good recovery is expected. £19,200 to £39,170
D - Simple Fracture Of The ForearmSimple bone fractures.£6,610 to £19,200
Elbow InjuriesA - Severe Disabling InjuriesAn injury to the elbow which is severe and disabling.£39,170 to £54,830
B - Less Severe InjuriesElbow joint function has been impaired but does not need major surgery.£15,650 to £32,010
C - Moderate Or Minor InjuriesMost elbow injuries will fall into this bracket.Up to £12,590
Arm Amputations Loss of Both ArmsFull awareness to a state of considerable helplessness.£240,790 to £300,000
Arm Amputations Loss of One Arm (iii)Below elbow amputation £96,160 to £109,650

How Medical Negligence Assist Can Help You

Please contact Medical Negligence Assist if you wish to claim medical negligence compensation for injuries caused by delayed surgery for a broken arm. You can get free legal advice about making your claim. And if the team can see you are eligible for compensation, a skilled solicitor from our panel can start working on your claim.

What’s more, you can work with a No Win No Fee solicitor. A No Win No Fee solicitor requires no payment upfront from the claimant. Instead, the claimant pays a success fee on the condition that they win their claim. The success fee is capped by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.

Please contact Medical Negligence Assist to enquire:

Learn More About Claims For Delayed Medical Care

We are thankful that you have read our guide to claiming compensation for injuries caused by delayed surgery. Please read the guides below to find out more.

Delayed Arm Fracture Diagnosis Compensation Claims

Making A Delayed Foot Fracture Diagnosis Compensation Claim

An NHS inform guide to wrist fractures

Broken arm or wrist symptoms and treatment

The National Health Service (Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice) Regulations 2019

Thank you for reading our guide to claiming compensation for delayed broken arm surgery.