Broken Leg compensation??

Dr_Burlz

With regard to what Soolin claims, yes choice is good, but only when that choice is informed. I cannot comment with any certainty over the merits of this particular case but it seems that Bossman13 was given a difficult choice whilst suffering considerable pain and no doubt shock. If indeed this was the case then I struggle to see how 'informed' that choice was. I don't see what is Victorian about delegating complex medical decisions to professional practioners. I'm afraid that 'Doctors do know best' in most circumstances!

As for cancellations these are unfortunately common practice and often the only solution to 'juggle' waiting lists and meet unacceptable targets.

In respect of compensation, it is always more emotive to seek recompense from the NHS than it would be from another government body (farmers claiming compensation from Defra over leaked foot & mouth strain, for example). However, it is often through such actions that bad practice is brought to light. As a doctor, I for one am dismayed by cases brought against the NHS, but unfortunately these are often not without merit. In certain cases there are failings and patients should be entitled to recompense where this is proven to be the case.

It is in these cases that administrators take notice and become more receptive to the very same complaints being voiced by practicioners.

G-G_4

I broke my wrist in a motorbike accident... had it in a cast for a while, never felt right though and had not been set properly (although they had done their best).

3 1/2 years later I had to have a bone graft done on the wrist to set it right, pins and a plate put in aswell.

If they had done this from the beginning it would have saved me hassle for sure, but they can only do what they think is best and try not to waste money and resources.

I am happy with what I got, and would never even consider sueing the NHS.

My wrist is crappy, but lucky for me I got a good insurance payout from the person that knocked me off.

Life is full of ups and downs, football can cause horrific injuries, I do hope you get your leg fixed, but I feel that you may be stuck with it..

x

morg_monster

So what were they supposed to do, leave him there without painkillers for a few hours so he could make a more informed choice? Or decide for him - if they had gone for the natural option the same outcome would have happened and he'd still be in this position, or if they'd gone for the plate and screws then when he woke up he'd probably be totally hacked off because that wasn't the option he wanted at that time, and maybe would have tried to go for compensation then.

I'm not saying where I stand on this issue but to not give a mentally capacitated adult a choice on treatment when there is no clear medical benefit to one over the other would have landed the surgeon in a lot more hot water than he will be in now if he is sued.

You say doctors usually know best - well if that was the case here then they wouldn't have given him a choice, they just would have chosen the best treatment! And also if that was the case there wouldn't be any studies looking at treatment a over treatment b. Doctors don't always know best, and sometimes the "gold standard" treatments have no evidence base. It sounds like there wasn't a clear best treatment here so they outlined the pros and cons to the patient and gave him the choice.

If you do decide to sue, just be aware that the money you get from them means that money cannot be used to treat another patient. That might be OK with you if the money really will make you feel better about this whole sorry saga.
But ask yourself, will the money actually make you feel better or improve your quality of life? (and I don't know anything about your personal/financial situation, so the answer might be yes, eg means you can move to a more suitable house etc)
If the answer is no, then perhaps consider asking for an apology or a symbolic £1 of damages, or donating the money you get back to an NHS hospital or patient group.

Also it might be better to just keep documenting everything and think about this again in a year or so when this latest op is healed and you can more accurately assess things (eg, to be pessimistic, if this op isn't a huge success either the situation might be different, eg the possibility of long term problems may make you see the compensation thing in a different light).

soolin

I would also add that whilst you say

everybody telling me (including my G.P and other people from the medical proffesion) that the treatment i have received from the start has been unaceptable,

Will they attend court on your behalf and stand up and state that publicly? It is not uncommon for all aspects of the NHS to deem other people's work 'unacceptable'..it is the easiest way of getting a patient on their side if they feel they aren't getting anywhere dealing with the situation. Ask them to state this as an official oppinion and they will hurriedly back track, which leads you to have to seek out a clinician who will publicly state that there is no doubt that the option offered was not clinically suitable in the circumstances. I asusme this is on a no win no fee basis, on which case the solicitors will have to find that clinician on your behalf.

As I said earlier though in all probability the NHS will not fight you as a few thousand compensation is cheaper than them paying a barrister and full legal representation. However, if you are claiming more than a few thousand and they fight it you will end up having to prove that the NHS were negligent. The fact that you are still in pain is not sufficient, that is the consequence of the accident. You will need to prove beyond doubt that this is a direct result of NHS practices.

If you are going for the suggestion that you were not able to make a choice then be careful you understand the requirements of proving mental capacity as they have changed recently to provide more choice even for those considered previously to be mentally incompetent.

dmg24

I am interested as to how you noticed this 'kink' developing?

How about the NHS give you an award of compensation, but then deduct the cost of the care that they will provide you with over a lifetime? Even excluding this current treatment, I imagine you will end up owing them money!

bossman13

The kink was appearing after about 6-7 wks on xrays that were being taken at reviews. I was told on 3 consecutive reviews by 3 different junior surgeons that "everything was fine that it would straighten itself out over time". Even when the POP was removed and i had a large visible lump in the side of my leg it was still stated that it was ok. It was only when i was seen by 2 senior surgeons after 8-9 months, that things started heading in the right direction. Sebsquently my op was done at another hopistal 100 miles away because no one at my local "county hospital" had the knowledge or experience to deal with my case.

soolin

bossman13 wrote: »

Sebsquently my op was done at another hopistal 100 miles away because no one at my local "county hospital" had the knowledge or experience to deal with my case.

That is absolutely correct..I'm not sure what you mean by county hospital but I am sssuming you mean probably a specialist centre that does not deal with surgical trauma. It is unusual to have to travel as much as 100 miles, but then my experience is only in London and surrounding counties and I imagine that further out of London and major centres the specialist treatment centres are further apart.

Under current NHS policies not all hospitals have the same facilities, there are sepcialist centres for all sorts of things as well as 'basic' hospitals for chronic rather than acute problems. Nothing can be read into the fact that a different hospital had to do the procedure in the end..you follow the specialty as it is cheaper to get patients moved around to the appropriate centre for treatment than it is to have consultants try and cover too many hospitals.

bossman13

County Hospital is our largest,best equipped hospital in the area built only a few years ago at the cost of millions. However the surgical intevention i required could only be done by a handfull of surgeons in the country (that is what i was told by the Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon). Hence the move to another hospital.

soolin

Our local new hospital a PFI build less than 2 years old has just transferred my father elsewhere for tests ..money and age of hospital has nothing to do with it. Some of the specialist centres are in London hospitals buit in Victorian times for instance..

bossman13

Fair comment, but my point is if i had have had the op done first time around then it could have been done at a local level because it was not as complex, the fact that all this has ensued at a much higher cost and much larger time scale is purely down to bad decision making by surgeons evidently not qualified (maybe on paper but not in experience) to make them!