Orthopaedic Surgery Claims Solicitors

Complex fractures, perhaps as a result of a car accident or fall, often require surgery to stabilise the bone, provide the best function and ensure minimal ongoing pain.

This may require a pin and plate in the bones in the arm or leg. If the bones are pinned inaccurately, the bone will repair itself in the wrong position. If this happens, the patient may need to return and have the bone broken and reset.

If this has happened to you, then you may be entitled to make an orthopaedic surgery claim.

Whether it is a new hip, knee or shoulder joint, there is a small risk that the wrong size prosthesis may be applied during replacement surgery.

The prosthesis is not generally custom-made, so medical professionals must choose from a range of ‘off-the-shelf’ sizes. There is a wide range of reasonable sizes to pick from, and if the prosthesis is not an exact fit, this would not be considered negligent.

However, if the prosthesis is too big, resulting in reduced movement, or too small whereby it locks out of joints, you could have grounds for a successful orthopaedic claim.

An osteotomy is a common procedure performed to shorten, lengthen or change the alignment of a bone. These surgeries are often carried out to delay or prevent younger patients from undergoing a future joint replacement procedure.

Osteotomies are normally effective, but there is also a small risk of surgeons removing too much bone or not taking enough. This would lead to pain, discomfort and possibly the necessity for further procedures needing to be completed.

A key priority in surgery is protecting the nerves and blood vessels surrounding the operation site. If this fails and an injury results, numerous issues could follow post-operation.

For example, if there is a restriction to the blood vessels and a limited supply to nerves or muscles, they could die, resulting in nerve injuries or muscle wastage.

If a prosthesis is fitted, it has to fit well for the surgery to be considered successful. Replacing parts of the skeleton such as joints or whole bones with incorrectly sized artificial limbs could result in a successful orthopaedic surgery claim.

However, if the prosthesis has a fault that the surgeon could not have known about, that would be a product liability claim, not a medical negligence claim.

Orthopaedic injuries can happen to people at any age, from newborns to the elderly, and for a variety of reasons, including congenital conditions, trauma, disease and ageing. For this reason, there are numerous treatments available.

Treatment options for orthopaedic injuries – such as a fracture of the hip, leg, wrist, knee, arm or back – range from immobilising the body part in a splint or plaster, to open surgery or even amputation. Recovery times range from a few weeks upwards, depending on the injury.