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Alan had become increasingly aware of specific pain in his hips and legs, which he reported to his GP. During the appointment it was found that Alan’s blood iron levels were too low, and the doctor immediately stopped his prescription for Naproxen – an anti-inflammatory pain relief drug which Alan used in relation to previous medical conditions.
Although Alan raised concerns about this being stopped and him being in pain, no other action or examination was undertaken in relation to his hip pain.
After the Naproxen was stopped, Alan immediately began to experience increasingly severe pain, which affected his mobility and sleep. Over the next year, Alan attended multiple appointments with his GP where he asked for help with his pain – and although he was again prescribed a half dose of Naproxen, this proved insufficient to manage his pain, and again no examination or action was taken to further investigate on any of these occasions.
Finally, 17 months after Alan first raised his pain symptoms with his doctor, the GP undertook a basic examination and diagnosed generalised bilateral osteoarthritis and arranged for him to have x-rays.
Despite these x-rays revealing ‘severe bilateral hip joint osteoarthritis’, Alan was not advised of this and received no follow up advice, referrals, or treatment. He therefore assumed that the x-ray results were normal and continued to attend monthly appointments at the surgery for blood tests. It wasn’t until 10 months later, when he sought further assistance for chronic unbearable pain in his hips, did the GP inform him of the x-ray results and diagnosis.
After taking into account NHS waiting list times and having one hip replacement surgery cancelled, Alan decided to pay privately to have both his hips replaced over a four-month period. Thankfully Alan has made an excellent recovery and appears to be suffering no long-term effects.
Alan instructed Fosters Solicitors’ Medical Negligence team on a no win no fee basis.
Having acquired all relevant medical records and sought the opinion of independent GP and hip surgeon experts, a formal Letter of Notification was sent to the Defendant practitioner and a Letter of Claim to their insurers.
Liability was vehemently denied by the Defendant which resulted in a protracted battle. But ultimately, the evidence of the experts used by Fosters Solicitors, confirming the breach of duty arising from the failure to diagnose and inform Alan about the significant adverse results of his x-ray, causing him to suffer an extended period of avoidable pain and ultimately having to pay for surgery privately, enabled the case to be settled – and a final settlement was agreed of £30,000.
Anne Saunderson, Fosters Solicitors’ Medical Negligence solicitor, said: “After a protracted process, we were delighted to have finally secured compensation for Alan in this case. For it to have taken so long for him to have his condition investigated and diagnosed, meant he suffered months of chronic pain before he could seek surgical remedy, by which time the pain was so severe he had to dip into his pension fund to pay for surgery privately to avoid further delay in resolving his symptoms. We are delighted to hear that Alan is now making a good recovery and that this settlement will assist him as he moves forward.”
General Practitioners (GPs) are often the first point of contact for a patient when experiencing injury or illness, and in the vast majority of cases provide a reasonable and much-needed service.
However, whilst rare, GP negligence can occur and can result in serious consequences for patients.
Our specialist team has experience in a wide range of GP negligence claims including:
We want to work with you to achieve the best possible outcome for your claim.
We understand you will want to know how we can assist, so we offer a free of charge no obligation first meeting or chat, which we follow up with a full letter of advice. If you are in any doubt as to whether you have a claim, please do contact us, again completely without obligation.
We are also able to discuss how you can cover the cost of a claim, including through a ‘No Win, No Fee’ agreement.
If you require any assistance regarding GP Negligence claims, please do not hesitate to contact us.
This article was produced on the 23rd July 2024 by our Medical Negligence & Inquests team for information purposes only and should not be construed or relied upon as specific legal advice.
