We acted on behalf of a middle aged man whose left wrist fracture was misdiagnosed due to the incompetence of the radiologist who incorrectly reported on the X-Ray.
Our client suffered a fracture to the left wrist as a result of a fall. On referral from his general practitioner, he attended a medical facility to undergo a plain radiographic x-ray on his left wrist. However, the x-ray report did not show any evidence of a fracture or a dislocation in respect of our client’s left wrist. Our client was told that there were no fractures and that he had suffered a soft tissue injury. He was only prescribed pain medication. Two months later, because of the ongoing pain and suffering in his left wrist, our client underwent a CT scan which revealed a fracture of the scaphoid bone in his left wrist. Our client immediately underwent open reduction and internal fixation surgery of his left wrist.
As a result of the negligence of the radiologist, our client was suffered from the fracture in his left wrist for 8 weeks without treatment, as well as the psychological consequences and loss of trust in medical services.
Feeling aggrieved for the injuries sustained and the incompetency of the radiologist, our client approached Gerard Malouf & Partners to consider whether or not his case has been managed negligently. He consulted our senior solicitor, Julie Baqleh, a Personal Injury Accredited Specialist.
We obtained expert evidence from a consultant radiologist and a report from an expert orthopaedic surgeon who both confirmed the fracture was evident on plain x-ray and that as a result of the delay, our client’s injury worsened which resulted in the need for him to have surgery to his wrist.
We also obtained medical reports to ascertain the extent of our client’s loss in terms of his physical limitations and emotional difficulties including reports from a psychiatrist, occupational physician and rehabilitation specialist.
With an ability to fight aggressively to obtain the best outcomes for our clients, we proceeded to mediation with the solicitors of the radiologist and the case settled for an amount of $240,000.00.
Our client was very satisfied with this result and thankful for Gerard Malouf & Partners’ efforts in settling the matter quickly.
We are a highly focused and specialised medical negligence compensation law firm being small enough to care, yet large enough to have solid financial, medical and expert resources to match the big defendants and insurance firms.
Our “no win no fee’’ arrangements and written guarantee to reduce fees in the unlikely event of a poor result is unmatched in the legal industry Australia-wide.
