Compensation recovered following delayed treatment of elbow fracture

Jonathan Herbert, specialist clinical negligence lawyer, acting for the claimant recovered damages of £5,000 to compensate him for his pain and suffering and financial losses following delays in treating an elbow injury.

Mr B suffered a fracture to his dominant arm when he fell from a mechanical digger at work.  He was taken to Darent Valley Hospital where he was informed that he had suffered fractures to 2 areas around his right elbow. As Mr B lived in East Kent, it was agreed that it would be best for him to be treated there. Mr B went to the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate later that day.

Having decided that Mr B required surgery, there was delay in him undergoing surgery and then following that, there was delay in him having post-surgery physiotherapy. We obtained expert evidence which confirmed that these delays more than doubled the time it took for him to achieve a functional range of movement and left him with greater degree of stiffness.

The defendant, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust admitted some failures of treatment but denied that they made any difference to Mr B’s outcome. The defendant made an offer of £5,000 which Mr B decided to accept.

Jonathan Herbert specialises in cases involving delays in treatment. If you would like to ask him a question about a potential case, or if you have a general query about any personal injury, contact Jonathan at Thomson Snell & Passmore solicitors on 01892 701226 in confidence. We offer no win no fee agreements on the vast majority of our clinical negligence and personal injury cases.