Medical Negligence

MaybeMax · 4 December 2019 at 1:36PM

Hello

I recently have a private surgery operation which hasn’t gone as planned.

I’m a very active person (not job related), doing marathons, long distance triathlons and the regular games of 5aside, plus gym work on the side as a hobby.

I had some pain when I strike a football, which we had successfully diagnosed as a posterior ankle impingement. I had to have this minor op done in November as my job gets absolutely crazy in December and any time of work is simply out of the question, nor would I want to, career wise.

So I was going in for keyhole/arthroscopic surgery to clear away the impingement.

I woke up two hours later for the surgeon to tell me when he got started, he couldn’t find the FHL tendon in my foot, why? Because it would turn out he sliced it in half on his way in with his tiny 4mm camera. He then had to do an emergency repair, open up the ankle and switch the tendon together, with a beautiful L shaped approx 6” scar.

Instead of being able to walk out unaided as promised, I’m in a cast for 1 month, boot for 2 months, and been advised I’m looking at a further 3 months approx rehab before I can run.

Post op I was told this had never happened in the surgeons career, and I can categorically confirm that there was never ever any mention that tendons being cut was a possibility.

At the follow up consultation the tone turned towards “this can happen”.

I think it’s cut(pun) and dry medical negligence, but in my part of GB no-win no-fee is illegal. So while I appreciate I 100% need a solicitor, I wanted to see if anyone had any insight before I started On the whole process.

Thanks

MaybeMax · 4 December 2019 at 1:39PM

Bit more info on the injury. FHL Tendon is unrelated to the original ankle issue, it is a landmark surgeons use to find their way around the ankle during keyhole.

It operates your big toe, and is integral to the final push off power your foot gives you when running/accelerating.

Shaun_of_the_Dead · 4 December 2019 at 1:51PM

MaybeMax wrote: »

Hello

I recently have a private surgery operation which hasn’t gone as planned.

I’m a very active person (not job related), doing marathons, long distance triathlons and the regular games of 5aside, plus gym work on the side as a hobby.

I had some pain when I strike a football, which we had successfully diagnosed as a posterior ankle impingement. I had to have this minor op done in November as my job gets absolutely crazy in December and any time of work is simply out of the question, nor would I want to, career wise.

So I was going in for keyhole/arthroscopic surgery to clear away the impingement.

I woke up two hours later for the surgeon to tell me when he got started, he couldn’t find the FHL tendon in my foot, why? Because it would turn out he sliced it in half on his way in with his tiny 4mm camera. He then had to do an emergency repair, open up the ankle and switch the tendon together, with a beautiful L shaped approx 6” scar.

Instead of being able to walk out unaided as promised, I’m in a cast for 1 month, boot for 2 months, and been advised I’m looking at a further 3 months approx rehab before I can run.

Post op I was told this had never happened in the surgeons career, and I can categorically confirm that there was never ever any mention that tendons being cut was a possibility.

At the follow up consultation the tone turned towards “this can happen”.

I think it’s cut(pun) and dry medical negligence, but in my part of GB no-win no-fee is illegal. So while I appreciate I 100% need a solicitor, I wanted to see if anyone had any insight before I started On the whole process.

Thanks

It probably isn't.

If it can happen, then why does it? Is that because the surgeon is negligent or is it one of those things. The fact you should have been informed of the risks is another matter.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth · 4 December 2019 at 1:51PM

MaybeMax wrote: »

Hello

I recently have a private surgery operation which hasn’t gone as planned.

I’m a very active person (not job related), doing marathons, long distance triathlons and the regular games of 5aside, plus gym work on the side as a hobby.

I had some pain when I strike a football, which we had successfully diagnosed as a posterior ankle impingement. I had to have this minor op done in November as my job gets absolutely crazy in December and any time of work is simply out of the question, nor would I want to, career wise.

So I was going in for keyhole/arthroscopic surgery to clear away the impingement.

I woke up two hours later for the surgeon to tell me when he got started, he couldn’t find the FHL tendon in my foot, why? Because it would turn out he sliced it in half on his way in with his tiny 4mm camera. He then had to do an emergency repair, open up the ankle and switch the tendon together, with a beautiful L shaped approx 6” scar.

Instead of being able to walk out unaided as promised, I’m in a cast for 1 month, boot for 2 months, and been advised I’m looking at a further 3 months approx rehab before I can run.

Post op I was told this had never happened in the surgeons career, and I can categorically confirm that there was never ever any mention that tendons being cut was a possibility.

At the follow up consultation the tone turned towards “this can happen”.

I think it’s cut(pun) and dry medical negligence, but in my part of GB no-win no-fee is illegal. So while I appreciate I 100% need a solicitor, I wanted to see if anyone had any insight before I started On the whole process.

Thanks

MaybeMax wrote: »

Bit more info on the injury. FHL Tendon is unrelated to the original ankle issue, it is a landmark surgeons use to find their way around the ankle during keyhole.

It operates your big toe, and is integral to the final push off power your foot gives you when running/accelerating.

According to a simple search using the duck, posterior ankle impingement is the result of some previous injury that has not healed correctly. You will need to explain more to your selected ambulance chaser and hopefully get some medical professional to stand up and prove your surgeon was negligent.

As you expressed that you keep yourself active, this may prove difficult due to the nature of your injury or your not mentioning of previous injuries.

MaybeMax · 4 December 2019 at 1:57PM

I take your point.

Initial response was that it had never happened in his career, and he phoned around other experts to see their opinion before I had woke up.

Ive naturally tried researching the issue through medical journals covering thousands of operations, setting out the complication rate and complication type - zero for FHL (or any tendon) damage.

As the person below you said, I will realistically need a second surgeon to provide a view, but thankfully my insurance company will provide this.

bris · 4 December 2019 at 5:44PM

MaybeMax wrote: »

but thankfully my insurance company will provide this.

You won't get the specialist advice for medial negligence you need on here.

But as you already have insurers dealing with it then people on here guessing answers really isn't going to help.

unholyangel · 4 December 2019 at 10:53PM

In a nutshell:

1) They need to have a duty of care
2) They need to be negligently in breach of that care
3) Their breach needs to have actually caused the damage
4) The damage must not be remote.

So duty of care, you owe to anyone you can reasonably foresee as being impacted by your actions.
Negligence, they need to have failed to meet a "reasonable" standard. A senior specialist consultant is held to a higher standard than that of a trainee or junior doctor. Someone is not negligent just because there is another professional body/person who has a different opinion. It needs to basically have been obvious to anyone of their skill level that such a course of action would cause such a damage.
Causation, can be a singular or multiple occurrence and if multiple then it can be successive or concurrent. Typically the "but for" test is used - aka would the damage still have occurred had it not been for the defendants act.
Remoteness - it must be foreseeable. It is the type of damage that must be foreseeable, not the extent.

Potbellypig · 5 December 2019 at 2:15PM

How much will make it all better?

whatsthenews · 10 December 2019 at 12:53AM

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth wrote: »

According to a simple search using the duck, posterior ankle impingement is the result of some previous injury that has not healed correctly. You will need to explain more to your selected ambulance chaser and hopefully get some medical professional to stand up and prove your surgeon was negligent.

As you expressed that you keep yourself active, this may prove difficult due to the nature of your injury or your not mentioning of previous injuries.

but if he hadn't had a previous injury then he wouldn't have impingement and need the operation. I think it would be expected that, as the cause of impingement is often a previous injury, there may be some scar tissue around the ankle which might make surgery less straightforward, but if the surgeon expected that there may be a particular risk involved for that particular patient then he should have added the risk to the list of risks explained to the patient on the written consent form ( a legal document).
Considering he says it's never happened before, I doubt it'll be documented as a risk on the consent form.

Medical Negligence

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