Patient confined to a wheelchair due to negligent hip surgery

Surgery was performed and soon after she complained of numbness, weakness and loss of power in her right leg. She also had only very limited movement in her right ankle. Only two days after surgery she lost all movement in her right ankle and knee.

Born with hip dysplasia our client had hip surgery several times during childhood.  A metal plate was inserted when she was 13 years old.  She underwent an attempted fusion of the hip joint when she was 29 and at age 53 she underwent a total hip replacement on her right side.

Around 15 years after her hip replacement our client began to experience mild pain and reduced movement in her hip.  Upon discussing this with her GP, she was referred to the Orthopaedic department at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby for an X-ray.

The hospital took an X-ray of our client’s right hip with the report noting nothing of concern.  The next month she had another X-ray and there was no change – no sign of infection or loosening.  Attending an outpatient appointment a month later, her Orthopaedic Surgeon advised that our client should have revision surgery to her right hip.

Surgery was performed and soon after she complained of numbness, weakness and loss of power in her right leg.  She also had only very limited movement in her right ankle.  Only two days after surgery she lost all movement in her right ankle and knee.  An MRI scan ruled out a spinal injury. Further tests demonstrated extensive nerve damage which had occurred during surgery.

Our client claimed that if she had been made aware of the risk that this could happen she would not have gone ahead with the surgery.  The level of pain and loss of movement that she has experienced since the operation is significantly worse in comparison to the level she was experiencing before. Our client also claimed that the hip replacement surgery was performed negligently as evidenced by damage caused to three nerves. Despite the Trust responsible for the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital denying the claim we negotiated a 6-figure sum on her behalf to compensate for her losses and the significant costs associated with ongoing care.