Missed Fracture - A & E

On 3rd July, Mrs P was involved in a bicycle collision and fell onto her left arm. Struggling with pain in her wrist, she attended the A & E department at Leicester Royal Infirmary the same day. Mrs P underwent an x-ray and was diagnosed with a soft tissue injury. She was advised to do gentle exercise on her wrist. 

Over the next four weeks, Mrs P continued to experience pain, and a lump appeared on her left wrist. She struggled to use her left wrist and had difficulties doing her daily tasks. 

On 8th August, Mrs P returned to the A & E department as the pain in her wrist was becoming unbearable. A further x-ray was performed, and she was diagnosed with a distal radius fracture.  Due to the delay in diagnosing the fracture to her wrist, Mrs P was informed that she would need surgery to correct the way that the fracture was healing.  

On 24th August, Mrs P underwent corrective surgery and took a significant amount of time away from work to recover. She suffered pain in her left wrist for a number of years, with symptoms being worse in the winter.

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Represented by Navdeep Kainth, Partner and Specialist Medical Negligence Solicitor at MDS, the case was settled after the defendant admitted liabilty. Navdeep said: “The failure to identify and diagnose the fracture was an error that should have been avoided. I hope that lessons have been learned so that the same failures are not repeated.”