Compensation after client's hip implant causes damage to sciatic nerve
Medical negligence lawyer settles claim after elderly woman was left with restricted mobility and in pain when her hip implant dislodged
Posted on 12 February 2015
A 78-year-old woman has received a substantial compensation payment after her hip implant dislodged.
The woman, known only as Mrs A, had been left with severely restricted mobility and considerable pain since her hip replacement surgery in 2010.
She visited her GP twice in 2008 reporting pain and restricted movement in her right knee.
X-rays showed that her hip showed signs of severe wear and tear and she was referred to an orthopaedic specialist.
Despite a course of physiotherapy her symptoms did not improve and in February 2010 she was booked in for total hip replacement surgery.
The day after the operation Mrs A was in a great deal of discomfort and pain and an X-ray showed that part of the hip implant had become dislodged meaning that she would need a second operation. This was carried out a few days later.
Mrs A continued to experience considerable pain and numbness in her foot and was given a foot splint.
Further examinations revealed that Mrs A had suffered an injury to her sciatic nerve during the second operation from which she was unlikely to recover fully.
Before her operation Mrs A had enjoyed an active lifestyle and had attended fitness classes twice a week.
However, she now finds it difficult to walk and dress herself.
Mrs A’s lawyer, Suzanne White, a member of the medical negligence team at Leigh Day was able to show that
Mrs A’s hip replacement had been fitted in the wrong position, and that it had not been fixed firmly enough to stop it moving.
Suzanne also argued successfully that medical staff misread Mrs A’s X-rays following her first operation and failed to make a note that the hip was not aligned properly.
Suzanne White, partner in the medical negligence team at Leigh Day, said:
“If my client had been correctly fitted with a standard hip replacement she would not have to have had a second operation to correct the dislodged implant, and would not have suffered damage to her sciatic nerve.
“She was left in the most terrible pain as a result of the poor care she received. The unnecessary surgery which she was forced to have has had a significant impact on her everyday life and mobility.”