Missed Arm Fracture Compensation Claims Guide – How To Claim Compensation For A Misdiagnosed Arm Fracture?

Have you recently suffered a fractured arm? If a doctor negligently misdiagnosed your arm fracture or missed the fracture in your arm altogether, this could be medical negligence. A missed arm fracture could have caused your condition to worsen over time because you did not get the treatment that you needed.

Missed arm fracture compensation claims

Missed arm fracture compensation claims

If you have experienced a missed arm fracture or missed ulna fracture due to medical negligence, you could be entitled to claim missed arm fracture compensation for your avoidable injuries. Trust Medical Negligence Assist to handle your claim. If you legitimately have grounds to make a medical negligence claim, we could provide you with an experienced no win no fee solicitor to handle your case.

To begin your missed arm fracture compensation claim, call Medical Negligence Assist on 0800 652 3087 or contact us via our website to begin your claim online.

Choose A Section

A Guide To Missed Arm Fracture Compensation Claims

When there are strains or pressures on healthcare services such as the NHS and practitioners working with in the service, medical errors and mistakes could be made. A medical mistake could be a missed fracture, or missed broken bones. This could happen because not all broken or fractured bone injuries are visible by x-ray and may need further investigation to diagnose correctly. If a doctor misses a fractured arm bone or broken arm, this can lead to the patient’s condition worsening over time. For example, a patient may be suffering from a fractured arm injury which could be healed using a simple method such as a cast and a sling to keep the bone in place as it heals. If the arm fracture is misdiagnosed, the extent of the injuries may worsen over time. The patient may need more drastic treatment such as surgery to treat their injuries, which could have been avoidable.

In this guide, we will explain how missed arm fracture medical negligence could happen and the effect it could have on patients. If you have experienced medical negligence where a doctor missed a fracture in your arm, you could be owed missed arm fracture compensation. Contact Medical Negligence Assist today to see if you could make a missed arm fracture medical negligence claim. We could provide you with an experienced medical negligence solicitor who can advise you on how to claim compensation and handle your case.

What Is A Missed Fracture?

Medical practitioners, such as doctors, nurses and radiologists have a duty of care towards their patients. This means that they are legally obliged to provide their patients with an adequate standard of care. If a medical practitioner provides the patient with an inadequate standard of care and the patient is made ill, is injured, or their existing condition is made worse, the institution the medical practitioner works for, such as a hospital could be held liable for the patient’s injuries and the patient could have the right to claim medical negligence compensation.

A missed fracture is where a doctor fails to correctly identify a fractured bone or broken bone. As a result, the fracture is not treated and could worsen over time, possibly needing more drastic treatment such as surgery to correct it, which could not have been necessary if the fracture had been correctly diagnosed. Health issues that could be caused by a missed fracture include carpal instabilities, arthritis, or avascular necrosis.

Causes Of Misdiagnosed Fractures

Here are some examples which could lead to a fracture being misdiagnosed.

  • A fracture not showing up on an x-ray. As we have said, this can happen because not all fractures are visible on an x-ray. If a fracture is not visible on an x-ray but the patient is showing other signs of a broken bone, the doctor should pursue other forms of diagnosis such as an MRI scan, to ensure the fracture is not missed.
  • A doctor could misinterpret the imaging on an MRI scanner or an x-ray, as something other than an arm fracture.
  • A doctor could misdiagnose a fracture if they do recognise the signs of a fractured arm, or broken arm in a patient when they first come to the Accident & Emergency department for treatment. Sometimes, for example, a broken or fractured bone can be misdiagnosed as a sprain. Other times, a patient suffering from a fracture may not show symptoms that are seen as typical of a fracture, so will not be fully investigated.

Causes Of An Arm Fracture

There are three major bones in the human arm. The two bones of the lower arm are the radius bone and the ulna bone. The bone in the upper arm is the humerus. A fractured radius, fractured ulna or fractured humerus could be classed as an arm fracture.

How do fractured arm injuries happen? Here are are some examples of causes of arm fractures:

  • Sports injuries: a fall or a traumatic impact (such as being rugby tackled) can cause a broken arm injury.
  • Slips, trips and falls: If a person slips and falls or trips and falls, they may put their hand out to protect themselves. The impact can cause an arm fracture.
  • Abuse and assault: If a person is violently attacked, suffer domestic violence or child abuse, this can result in them suffering a fractured arm bone.
  • A road traffic accident: The significant trauma caused by being involved in a car accident, motorbike accident or any other type of road traffic accident can result in a fractured arm.

Symptoms Of An Arm Fracture

Arm fracture symptoms and ulna fracture symptoms can include the following:

  • Swelling and bruising
  • Severe pain, especially when the injured person attempts to move their arm
  • Deformity, such as an abnormal bend in the arm
  • Not being able to turn the arm so the palm is facing up or down

If you or your child is showing any of these arm fracture symptoms, you could be suffering from an arm fracture or broken arm injury. Go to your nearest Accident & Emergency (A&E) department for treatment.

Diagnosis and Treatment Of An Arm Fracture

When a patient goes to the hospital, with a severe injury that looks like a fracture, the first step is to diagnose the injury. When a doctor diagnoses an arm fracture, they will start by examining the patient. They will look for signs such as severe pain, tenderness, an unusual bend in the arm, or restricted movement. They will also speak to the patient about the accident that they have experienced, to see if it was likely to cause a fracture.

To confirm that there is a fracture the doctor will take an x-ray. As we have already mentioned not all fractures will show up on an x-ray. This is a common reason why misdiagnosed arm fractures happen. If a patient is showing signs of an arm fracture but the fracture is not visible on the x-ray, taking an MRI or CAT scan is another course of action.

Below are some common treatments of arm fractures:

Because arm fractures are painful, the first method of treatment may be to have painkillers. If the patient also has other injuries as a result of their accident, measures may be taken to stabilise those injuries first.

The first stage in treating a fractured arm is a reduction. This is when the bones are moved into the correct position, ie the position they were in before they were fractured or broken. The second stage will be immobilisation, which means to hold the bone in place as it knits (heals). This could be a plaster or fibreglass cast, a brace or a sling. A broken arm will usually have a sling to help keep it elevated. A course of physiotherapy exercises may also be prescribed.

In some instances, reduction and immobilisation may not be enough and the arm fracture may require surgery in order to heal. In the case of a misdiagnosed arm fracture, the injury will go untreated and may worsen over time. In this case, surgery may be needed to fix the arm fracture, which may not have been needed if the injury had not been misdiagnosed. Arm fracture surgery involves a surgeon using rods, pins, metal plates or screws to keep a bone, or pieces of a bone in place, as it heals.

Am I Eligible For Compensation For My Missed Arm Fracture?

To have legitimate grounds to make a missed arm fracture compensation claim for your avoidable injuries, you must be able to prove the following:

  • You were a patient at a doctor’s surgery, hospital, or another medical institution. Therefore the doctor or another medical practitioner who was treating you owed you a duty of care.
  • That the doctor was negligent,
  • That as a result of this medical negligence, you were avoidably injured, made ill, or your pre-existing medical condition was made worse.

If you choose to claim compensation for the misdiagnosis of a fracture, your medical negligence lawyer will be able to investigate your claim, to find supporting evidence. If you believe you are owed compensation for damage caused by a missed arm fracture, contact Medical Negligence Assist today. If you are eligible for compensation, we could provide you with a medical negligence solicitor to handle your case.

Missed Arm Fracture Claims Against A GP

GPs cannot treat fracture injuries, such as a fractured arm. However, a GP can spot the signs of an arm fracture. If they believe the patient is suffering from a fracture, they are supposed to refer the patient to a specialist department at a hospital, where they can undergo x-rays and other specialist procedures to properly diagnose and treat their arm fracture. If A GP missed an arm fracture due to medical negligence, the patient may have a right to make a clinical negligence claim against their GP surgery for compensation for avoidable injuries.

Missed Arm Fracture Claims Against A Hospital

A missed arm fracture may happen at a hospital A&E department if a patient comes in with a fracture that is not easy to spot. A patient could also be misdiagnosed whilst receiving treatment at an orthopaedic ward. Doctors, nurses and other hospital workers may face time and staffing pressures, however, it is important to take all the steps necessary to ensure that a fracture has not been missed. If a hospital failed to diagnose your fracture , you may be eligible to claim compensation for your avoidable injuries.

NHS Patients’ Rights

The NHS allows certain rights to its patients’ and staff. You can read about your NHS patient rights in the NHS Constitution for England.

Missed Arm Fracture Compensation Claim Time Limits

If you wish to make a missed arm fracture clinical negligence claim, please note that there is a general medical negligence claims time limit of three years. This means from the date that you realised that you had been avoidably injured/harmed due to medical negligence you will have three years to begin your missed arm fracture clinical negligence claim. It is important to begin your claim as soon as possible, to avoid falling outside of the claims time limit. So call Medical Negligence Assist to see if you are eligible to claim compensation, today.

Missed Arm Fracture Compensation Calculator

If your medical negligence claim for a missed fracture is successful, you will be awarded general damages. General damages is compensation that is awarded to compensate the claimant for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity they have experienced because of their injuries. The missed fracture compensation amount you will be awarded will vary depending on the severity of your injuries. You can use our medical negligence claims calculator to estimate what missed arm fracture compensation amount you could claim. Alternatively call us today to speak to an advisor, who could provide you with a quote based on your personal circumstances.

Type Of Arm InjuryCommentsSettlement with 10% uplift
Severe arm injuryInjuries to the arm which leave the claimant in a similar position (thought a little better off) than if the arm had been amputated. An example may be a serious injury to the brachial plexus.£90,250 to £122,860
Injuries Resulting in Permanent and Substantial
Disablement		A serious fracture to either one or both forearms. Significant and permanent residual disability in the arm. This may be cosmetic or functional.£36,770 to £56,180
Less severe injuryThe claimant may have sustained a level of disability, though this either is getting better, or is expected to do so. £18,020 to £36,770
Simple Fractures of the ForearmSingle type and category of injury.£6,190 to £18,020

In addition to claiming general damages, you can also claim special damages. Special damages compensate the claimant for any past or future expenses they may have, due to their injuries. Examples of expenses you could claim as special damages include; medical expenses, travel expenses, home adaptation or mobility equipment expenses, care expenses or loss of income expenses.

No Win No Fee Missed Arm Fracture Compensation Claims

If you have been harmed because a doctor missed your arm fracture, you may be eligible to make a medical negligence compensation claim. At Medical Negligence Assist, we can provide you with a medical negligence lawyer who can handle your claim on a no win no fee basis. No win no fee means that your solicitor will begin work on your claim without charging you a solicitors fee. Instead, you will only have to pay your fee, on the condition that your solicitor wins your claim. If your claim is not successful, you will not have to pay your fee, so there is less financial risk involved for you. What’s more, your fee will be deducted from your missed fracture compensation amount you are paid, so you will not have to worry about finding the funds upfront to pay for your claim. To learn more about the benefits of making a no win no fee claim, call Medical Negligence Assist today for your free claims consultation.

Contact Medical Negligence Assist

Trust Medical Negligence Assist to handle your medical malpractice claim. Our panel of medical negligence solicitors have years of experience handling medical negligence claims and will always push to win you the maximum level of compensation you could be entitled to.

Call Medical Negligence Assist for your free medical negligence claims consultation right away. If you have grounds to claim, we will assign a solicitor to your case. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Supporting Resources

In the following resources, you can find external information about fractures and breaks to the arm.

NHS Broken Arm Guide – Information from the NHS for those with a suspected broken or fractured arm or wrist.

NHS Humerus Fracture Advice Sheet – An informative advice sheet provided by the NHS for those with a fractured humerus.

NHS Arm Fracture Guide – A Downloadable PDF guide from the NHS.

Other Misdiagnosis Claims

Written by Hana

Edited by Lis.