Orthopaedic medicine is an extremely wide category and encompasses conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. This includes bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and nerves.
Some of the most frequent examples of treatment a medical practitioner specialising in orthopaedics may provide are:
- hip and knee replacements
- tendon and ligament repair
- spinal fusion or decompression
However, orthopaedic injuries may also be managed through less invasive methods such as medication, physical therapy, or injections.
Orthopaedic Negligence Claims
Medical negligence claims concerning orthopaedic injuries are, unfortunately, fairly common. In 2023/2024, orthopaedic surgery accounted for almost 11% of claims made against the NHS.
Some examples of negligent orthopaedic treatment include:
- Surgical or treatment errors: mistakes during orthopaedic surgery, such as improper use of surgical instruments or failure to monitor function.
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis: mistakes leading to a delay or a failure to diagnose conditions, such as the misreading of scans or the failure to conduct appropriate investigations.
- Undiagnosed conditions or untreated infections: mistakes resulting in the failure to treat underlying conditions such as septic arthritis and osteomyelitis.
- Failure to obtain the appropriate consent: not ensuring a patient is properly consented to the treatment provided.
- Inadequate post-operative care and management: failure to manage immediate post-operative concerns such as infection and bleeding, as well as failure to appropriately manage a patient’s long-term recovery.
What Is Bone and Joint Action Week?
Bone and Joint Action Week is an annual awareness week held in October with activities focused on disorders including arthritis, back pain, trauma, paediatric conditions, and osteoporosis. During this week, there are other dedicated global awareness days to highlight major rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions, including World Arthritis Day and Word Spine Day. Those involved encourage active support around these themes to raise awareness worldwide about prevention, disease management and treatment. Find out more:
Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health: https://gmusc.com/bone-and-joint-week/
Making a Medical Negligence Claim
Negligent orthopaedic treatments such as those listed above can have extremely distressing physical consequences including prolonged pain, loss of function, unnecessary further treatment, and even amputation (removal) of a limb in some cases. It can equally impact on a person’s ability to work, resulting financial losses, and have a devastating impact on a patient’s general life.
Making a medical negligence claim, although no substitute for appropriate orthopaedic treatment, can help to alleviate some of the financial repercussions.
If you or a loved one has experienced suspected medical negligence related to the diagnosis or management of an orthopaedic injury, please seek the answers you deserve and telephone our experienced medical negligence team on 0800 987 8800 or make a free online enquiry here and we will contact you. Alternatively, email us at: medneg@bmcf.co.uk.
Medical Negligence Specialists – Bridge McFarland LLP
medicalnegligence.co.uk is owned and operated by Bridge McFarland LLP, an established and nationally recognised law firm renowned for specialist expertise and experience in this complex area of law. With our determination and commitment to providing our clients with an exceptional standard of service, we have held the highly regarded Lexcel quality mark since June 2008. Many of our solicitors also hold the specialist Law Society Clinical Negligence Accreditation, a recognised quality standard for practitioners representing claimants in medical negligence matters. These accolades are only awarded to firms who have undergone regular rigorous and independent assessments.
