Last updated on November 28th, 2018 at 01:52 pm
Not actual client image
Mr C trapped his thumb in a van door whilst at work. He broke his thumb and attended Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, but was referred to the City Hospital. When he got to the ward he had been referred to (a 40-minute bus journey), he was told that the hospital was unable to operate that night and he would have to return the next day.
Weak metal plate in negligent thumb operation
The operation was carried out the following day. He was awake, but groggy during the operation and was aware that the surgeon put a plate in his thumb, but it was removed as another doctor said it wasn’t good enough, and a second plate put in. The operation took around 4 – 5 hours.
Mr C’s thumb was heavily bandaged and felt odd. He mentioned it to the nurses and was seen by physiotherapists who gave him instructions on hand movements that he had to try to perform when the bandage was removed. He was discharged from hospital the day after the operation but the surgeon told Mr C that the plate he had used was not as strong as he would have liked and he would need to have physiotherapy.
Mr C went to about 4 physiotherapy sessions at City Hospital and each time spoke about his concerns that his thumb did not feel right.
Second operation inserts wires into thumb
The bandage had been replaced with plaster and Mr C had to return to hospital about 16 days after the operation as the plaster was slipping. On this occasion the physiotherapist arranged an x-ray. The x-ray showed that the plate had either broken or one of the screws wasn’t holding properly. Mr C was admitted to hospital for a further operation in which wires were inserted to hold his thumb together. He was also told that some bone had to be taken out.
After a few days bandaged, a half-cast was put on Mr C’s thumb, following by a moulded cast. He was concerned that his thumb still did not feel right and told the nurses about it. More physiotherapy followed the second operation, but this stopped after a while as it had become ineffective.
Negligent operation leads to weakened thumb
Mr C has been left with a very weak right hand thumb, and, being right-handed, it has affected his life considerably. His thumb is rigid and has limited movement, restricting him in every-day tasks and reducing his grip. He describes the on-going pain as like toothache. He had to rely on his family for a lot of help for several months.
Petra Heath
Feeling that the treatment from the hospital had been substandard, Mr C contacted Graysons to see if anything could be done, and Petra took up his case. She contacted the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust to pursue compensation for medical negligence and the trust admitted that the treatment given had not been of an acceptable standard. Petra was able to negotiate a settlement of £40,000.
If you have suffered as a result of an inadequate standard of treatment from any health professional, please contact us to arrange a confidential meeting in which we can discuss your case.
You can find out more about making a medical negligence compensation claim on our web pages.
