By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 8th October 2024. Welcome to our missed fracture claims guide. This is our updated guide to missed fracture compensation claims. You might assume that if you’d fractured a bone somewhere within the body that you would instantly know it. However, you would still usually go to the doctor or the hospital to have this confirmed.
If you are taken into hospital after an accident where you were not sure of your injuries, you could expect that the medical staff would check you for injuries and confirm what injuries you have sustained. But what happens if they miss a fracture?
If you have had a missed fracture or missed fractures, you might be wondering whether you could look into making a missed fracture claim. Within the guide below, we cover many different aspects of making personal injury claims for missed fractures, as well as going through commonly missed fractures, what would happen if you went about your daily life with a missed fracture, such as a missed fracture in the foot, a missed monteggia fracture, or a missed elbow fracture for example.
We’ll also explain how you could make a personal injury claim with a personal injury solicitor for missed fracture compensation. If you need any assistance while reading this missed fracture claims guide, call us anytime on 0800 073 8804. Alternatively, read on to find out all you could need to know about making a missed broken bone claim.
Select A Section
- Could I Make A Missed Fracture Compensation Claim?
- What Could Cause A Missed Fracture?
- What Are The Symptoms Of Commonly Missed Fractures?
- Evidence That Can Support A Missed Fracture Claim
- How Is A Missed Fracture Compensation Amount Calculated?
- No Win No Fee Missed Fracture Compensation Claims
- Contact Us To Make A Medical Negligence Claim
- References And Related Medical Claims Guides
Could I Make A Missed Fracture Compensation Claim?
When you visit a medical professional, whether they work in a hospital or GP surgery, they owe you a duty of care. Per their duty of care, they must provide you with the correct standard of care and treatment. Failure to do so would be classed as a breach of their duty of care.
For example, if you go to the hospital with clear symptoms of a fracture, they should order an X-ray to confirm this. If they fail to do so and your fracture is missed, this could cause the fracture to worsen and cause you additional harm.
Therefore, to make a missed fracture compensation claim, you must prove:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty.
- This breach caused you unnecessary harm.
Contact our advisors today to discuss your case.
What Could Cause A Missed Fracture?
There are certain ways in which fractures could be missed, whether these are missed fractures at the emergency department or commonly missed pediatric fractures that could be seen in a children’s unit. They could include cases of NHS missed fractures and hospital missed fractures. Whether the reason for your missed fracture claim is listed here or not, we could still be able to assist with your missed broken bone claim.
- A doctor has not recognized the injury you have as a fracture
- The doctor has misinterpreted the imaging. Call us to find out what the most commonly missed fractures with imaging could be – this could include a fracture missed on an MRI or a missed fracture on X-ray.
- A broken bone that was misdiagnosed as some kind of sprain.
- An X-ray that was not carried out correctly – could lead to a missed ankle fracture on Xray or a missed wrist fracture on Xray because, for example, the wrong angle was x rayed.
What Are The Symptoms Of Commonly Missed Fractures?
Common symptoms for missed fractures include swelling, pain, deformity, and immobility. These could present differently depending on where the broken bone is.
- Missed foot fractures could lead to symptoms such as being unable to walk or put your foot down properly.
- Commonly missed fractures to the hand could lead to an inability to make a fist, for example.
- Frequently missed ankle fractures could lead you not to be able to bear weight, for example.
- A missed fracture on the neck of the femur could lead to stiffness, pain and the inability to bear the weight
If your pain and swelling and immobility or deformity fail to respond to rest, if you have been told that you only have a sprain, you could be wise to get a second opinion as to whether you might have suffered missed fracture negligence.
Evidence That Can Support A Missed Fracture Claim
If you are eligible to make a missed fracture claim, you must gather supporting evidence. It could help prove that a medical professional breached their duty of care and due to this, you suffered avoidable harm.
Some examples of evidence that could be helpful in a medical negligence claim include:
- If your fracture was missed on an X-ray, this original scan and any following X-rays could help with proving your fracture was missed and how it worsened.
- A copy of your medical records stating your injury and required treatment.
- Correspondence between yourself and the medical institution where you received your treatment.
- A diary detailing your symptoms, such as any pain, swelling or bruising.
- Evidence of any financial losses you have suffered. For example, a payslip could help with proving a loss of earnings.
For more information on the evidence you could collect for your fracture misdiagnosis claim, please get in touch with one of the advisors from our team. In addition to free advice, they could assess whether you have valid grounds to seek compensation for medical negligence. If it seems like you do, you could be passed onto one of our No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitors.
How Is A Missed Fracture Compensation Amount Calculated?
When calculating missed fracture compensation, there are two heads of loss that could make up your final damages. These are general and special damages.
General damages are to compensate for the pain and suffering the missed fracture has caused you. It can also include factors such as the loss of enjoyment of your life and the prognosis for the future.
You may be invited to an independent medical assessment that will produce a medical report. This report will go into detail about the injuries and give a prognosis. It can be used alongside the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to estimate a missed fracture compensation amount.
The JCG contains a list of injuries and the suggested compensation bracket for them. They are not guaranteed figures but offer guidance about the level of damages different injuries could be worth.
Here is a table with some entries from the JCG. Please note that the top entry does not come from the JCG and includes significant special damages.
Also note, that you wouldn’t be awarded compensation for your initial fracture, just the unnecessary harm you have suffered due to that fracture being missed.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Injuries and Financial Losses, e.g. Loss of Earnings | Serious | Up to £1,000,000 + |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia (also known as Quadriplegia) | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 | |
| Shorter Durations | £60,210 | |
| Arm | Injuries Resulting in Permanent and Substantial Disablement | £47,810 to £73,050 |
| Less Severe Injury | £23,430 to £47,810 | |
| Elbow | Less Severe Injuries | £19,100 to £39,070 |
| Ankle | Moderate | £16,770 to £32,450 |
| Wrist | An uncomplicated Colles fracture. | In the region of £9,070 |
Special damages compensate for the financial losses caused by the harm suffered. This could include loss of earnings if the missed fracture caused you to take time away from work without being fully paid.
Other items of financial loss could include:
- Private medical treatments
- Rehabilitation costs
- Care costs
- Travel and medication expenses
- Adaptions that are necessary to the home or a vehicle
These are just some of the potentially claimable items. To get a fuller picture of what items of loss could apply to your case, you can reach out to one of our advisors.
No Win No Fee Missed Fracture Compensation Claims
When making missed fracture compensation claims, a common concern could be how to fund your case. Whether you’ve suffered a missed orbital fracture, a missed patella fracture, a missed metatarsal fracture or a missed open fracture, you may have been required to take time off work in recovery.
This could mean you don’t receive your full wage. And this could put people off claiming for missed broken bone compensation as they may think they would have to find money to give to their medical negligence lawyer before their claim could begin.
However, this is not the case with no win no fee claimants. They do not need money upfront as a no win no fee lawyer doesn’t require payment until missed fracture compensation has been paid out. Your missed broken bone claim could be started quickly and without any money changing hands to start with.
You would agree on the percentage of compensation your lawyer would get beforehand, and once the settlement is through, only then would they receive the percentage you’d agreed on. For more information on No Win No Fee missed fracture claims, do get in touch – we’d be happy to talk you through it in more detail.
Contact Us To Make A Medical Negligence Claim
We hope our guide to missed fracture compensation claims has helped you. Whether you had a fracture missed on MRI, or you suffered a missed fractures by the emergency department letting you go without checking you properly, you could find a personal injury lawyer through Legal Expert that has experience in fighting claims just like yours, whether you are claiming for a missed metatarsal fracture, or looking for missed scaphoid fracture compensation.
A personal injury solicitor with experience in making a missed broken bone claim, whether one of the commonly missed broken bones or an uncommon missed fracture on X-ray, could help you in gaining the maximum amount of missed fracture compensation possible for your missed fracture claim.
All you need to do to find out whether you have a claim would be to call our team. Here at Legal Expert, we will do all that we can to listen, reassure, support and advise you – all without obligation to use our service. Although we would be very glad to help you go ahead and take the first step towards claiming missed broken bone compensation, we would never push you into making a claim.
Call 0800 073 8804 and speak to a Legal Expert advisor today and we are sure you will be glad you did.
References And Related Medical Claims Guides
Here you can find further information related to missed fracture compensation claims,
What are your choices with the NHS – Here is the NHS guide to choices you have as a patient.
Have I broken a bone? – The NHS guide on broken bones.
Information about broken arms and wrists – Here you can see some information on broken arms or wrists.
Was your broken bone caused by a work accident? – If so, this guide could assist.
Broken femur case study – Here is some information regarding a broken femur claim.
Did you break a bone in a scaffolding accident – See this guide for information on claiming.
Author Jo
Checked by Jay
