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$180,000 compensation for avoidable surgery advised by doctor

Case Overview

Our client injured his right hip area, resulting in over-reliance on his left leg. 

  • At 6 weeks post-injury, a CT of the right hip identified fractures to the right acetabulum and right inferior pubic ramus in several components. A bone scan of the left femur identified a fracture with a CT confirming bilateral bowing. 
  • Our client continued to weight bear on both legs as tolerated with crutches. 
  • Our client ultimately required total right hip replacement. Due to over-reliance on the left leg, our client also required a left femur osteotomy and intramedullary nail fixation. 

 

Our client had a known history of both traumatic and non-traumatic fractures. Our client was also relatively short and has some dysmorphic irregularities, which should have raised concerns about his underlying bone condition. In the second half of 2019, our client injured his right hip area at home. 
 
At 3 weeks post injury, it was known to our client’s treating doctors that he was loading more on his left leg due to pain in the right leg. At 6 weeks post-injury, a CT of the right hip identified fractures to the right acetabulum and right inferior pubic ramus in several components, with displacements of up to 8mm. A bone scan shortly after also noted a fracture to the left mid femur with severe degenerative changes with a CT confirming bilateral bowing. 
 
Due to over-reliance on the left leg, our client underwent a left femur osteotomy and intramedullary nail fixation for the stress fracture. Our client continued to weight bear on both legs as tolerated with crutches. Due to minimal improvement, our client required a total right hip replacement. 
Our Approach

Due to the injuries our client suffered and the requirement to undergo surgery which he could have avoided, our client sought the expertise of Gerard Malouf and Partners in obtaining compensation.

 
We sought opinions from our medical specialists, including a general practitioner, radiologist and orthopaedic surgeon, with respect to the care and treatment our client received. Our specialists were of the view that our client was not adequately treated in two aspects: firstly, the fracture of the right hip was not diagnosed when possible, and secondly, the Plaintiff was not advised to non-weight bear so as to avoid further deterioration of his right leg and to avoid sustaining injury to his left leg.

 
To substantiate the damage our client suffered as a result of the alleged negligence, our client underwent assessments with a psychiatrist, occupational therapist and orthopaedic surgeon. Ultimately, we were able to reach a settlement of $180,000 at mediation.

The Result

We were able to reach a settlement of $180,000 at mediation.

Competence, Guaranteed

Our experienced and skilled lawyers at Gerard Malouf & Partners will seek compensation for your pain and suffering due to mismanagement. If you have an enquiry in relation to a potential medical negligence claim, please call us on 1800 004 878 and speak to one of our medical negligence lawyers.

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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.

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