Orthopaedic Negligence Claims

Our expert Clinical Negligence lawyers advise clients on a wide range of orthopaedic negligence claims, helping them to secure vital compensation for injuries caused by poor or negligent medical practice. If you or a loved one have suffered an injury as a result of negligent orthopaedic treatment or care, we can help you secure the justice and compensation to which you are entitled.

Our approach to orthopaedic negligence claims

We understand that orthopaedic negligence claims can be distressing for both for the patient and their family, causing a wide range of emotions including anger, fear and sadness – especially if the injury has resulted in a loss of function or mobility that prevents you from living your life as you did previously.

Our specialist Clinical Negligence team combine expert legal knowledge in this field with a sympathetic and human approach. We will break down the jargon and help you to understand how to make a complaint and launch a claim for compensation. Working closely with expert medical professionals, we will help build your case, showing where treatment or care was negligent, and provide guidance at every stage of your claim so that you have the best possible chance of securing compensation.

What is orthopaedics?

Orthopaedics refers to the medical discipline covering the bones, muscles and joints of the human body. A doctor specialising in orthopaedics will often handle patients that have suffered bone fractures or who need joint replacement or ligament reconstruction surgery. Orthopaedic procedures and treatments include:

• hand, shoulder and elbow surgery
• joint reconstruction
• paediatric (children’s) orthopaedics
• foot and ankle surgery
• back and spine surgery
• musculoskeletal oncology (cancer treatment)
• surgical sports medicine
• orthopaedic trauma

Can you make a claim for orthopaedic clinical negligence?

While the majority of orthopaedic procedures are successful, orthopaedic medical negligence can have a long-term and disabling impact on your life. If you have experienced orthopaedic negligence as a result of medical mistakes, you may have suffered from any of the following impacts:

• Being unable to enjoy sporting and social activities
• Being unable to leave the house without assistance
• The inability to perform everyday activities
• Being unable to work due to pain and an associated loss of earnings
• Emotional or mental distress due to a combination of the above factors

In these circumstances you may be eligible for compensation. We have represented clients in a wide range of orthopaedic negligence cases, including:

• Undiagnosed or delay in diagnosis of fractures such as scaphoid fractures in the wrist
• Negligent joint operations resulting in leg length discrepancies or foot drop
• Unnecessary surgery on a broken bone
• Delayed diagnosis and treatment of post-operative infections
• Incorrect size of joint replacement or prosthesis
• Secondary issues related to orthopaedic surgery, such as where a tourniquet has been applied resulting in tissue damage and subsequent amputation
• Failure to gain informed consent before a procedure
• Post-operative infection, muscular damage, and nerve damage

Our orthopaedic negligence lawyers have extensive experience of assisting people in the South West and beyond with securing compensation for their clinical negligence. In many cases, we will be able to support you on a no win no fee basis, meaning that if your claim is not successful, you will not have to pay any legal fees.

How much will your orthopaedic negligence claim cost?

In many cases, we will be able to support you on a no win no fee basis, meaning that if your claim is not successful, you will not have to pay any legal fees.

Whatever your case, we offer a free initial consultation to help you understand the process and the likely funding basis of your claim.

How long do you have to make an orthopaedic negligence claim?

You usually have up to three years from the date of the injury or when its effects were first apparent to start an orthopaedic negligence claim.

If the claim is for your child, you have until their 18th birthday to make a claim on their behalf. After this it becomes the responsibility of the child to make the claim, with the three-year limit starting when they reach the age of 18. If they lack the ‘capacity’ to handle their own affairs, the time limit does not apply. Similarly, if the orthopaedic negligence claim is on behalf of an adult incapable of handling their own affairs, the limitation does not apply.

We recommend that you contact us as soon as possible, so that our clinical negligence lawyers can explain the process of claiming compensation, start your claim and help you access any other support and/or rehabilitation you need.

How much compensation could you receive?

Every case of orthopaedic negligence claim is different. That’s why it is important to get expert advice from qualified specialist lawyers who really understand the unique nature of each orthopaedic injury and who are experienced in working with medical professionals to truly understand its long-term implications.

The amount you can claim will depend on a number of factors, including the severity of the injury, any financial losses you or your loved one have suffered or will suffer in the future, and any changes to your lifestyle that you have to make as a result of the orthopaedic injury. Whatever the case, our specialist clinical negligence lawyers will ensure that you get the compensation and support you are entitled to.

Of course, financial awards can’t fully compensate you or your loved one for an orthopaedic injury resulting from clinical negligence or address the long-term consequences. But compensation can help you to make any necessary adjustments to your lifestyle and help you get your life back on track. Compensation could also help to provide vital support if a loved one has lost the capacity to work as a result of their orthopaedic injury.