£375,000 for delayed diagnosis and treatment of Lisfranc injury at Tameside General Hospital

In August, Mrs N badly twisted her foot visiting botanical gardens in Buxton. Her foot was immediately very swollen, bruised and painful and she was unable to weight bear. She went straight to A&E at Tameside General Hospital. An X-ray was reported as showing no fracture and Mrs N was told she had sprained her foot. She asked for crutches but was told this was not necessary for a sprain and she should walk on the foot. She was sent home with no followup in place.

Over the next couple of weeks, Mrs N's foot did not get better and she continued to experience severe pain, the foot became more swollen and severely bruised. She had to borrow some crutches to mobilise. Mrs N attended a different hospital, a further X-ray was reported as showing no fractures. Mrs N (a qualified nurse) pointed out a gap between the bones of the foot on the X-ray and a nurse in A&E said she might have a Lisfranc injury, but still sent Mrs N home without any referral to Orthopaedics and with advice to weight bear on the foot.

Mrs N continued to experience severe pain in the foot and could not weight bear. She consulted a private physiotherapist who also became concerned that she may have a Lisfranc injury. Mrs N decided to see a private Orthopaedic Surgeon to try and get a diagnosis.

Around five weeks after the injury, the private Orthopaedic Surgeon diagnosed a Lisfranc injury that had been missed previously. Mrs N was advised that she needed urgent surgery on the foot to prevent further deterioration. At around seven weeks post injury, Mrs N underwent fixation surgery of the midfoot. Following surgery she was non weight bearing for around nine weeks and even after a protracted recovery and significant physiotherapy she continued to suffer with severe foot pain and limited walking distance.

Had the injury been diagnosed in August, she would have had surgery within two weeks, there would have been less damage to the foot and the surgery would have had better prospects of being successful. She would likely have made a full recovery within around six months.

The ongoing damage to the foot prior to diagnosis and delay in surgery left Mrs N with ongoing pain and symptoms in her foot that will likely deteriorate in future. She will require fusion surgery to the midfoot – a much more extensive operation to that she would have required with early treatment. Due to her ongoing pain and symptoms Mrs N has difficulty with mobility and activities of daily living.

The Defendant made an early admission that they caused a significant delay in diagnosis and treatment of the Lisfranc injury to Mrs N's foot. They admitted that this had contributed to her poor outcome but did not admit the full extent of her injuries and maintained this position throughout.

The Defendant was provided with a full valuation of Mrs N's claim and supporting evidence. However, despite not having any evidence of their own, the Defendant continued to dispute the valuation of the claim. Various offers of settlement were made and almost one year after providing the valuation of the case to the Defendant, Helen negotiated settlement of £375,000 with the Trust.

At the end of her claim, Mrs N said:

" I would like to thank Helen and her team very much for all their outstanding work on my case, it has taken time and a lot of hard work from all the team and it is so greatly appreciated.

I can highly recommend Helen, she is very professional and has been very supportive throughout the case, keeping me updated at all times.

I was unfortunate to suffer from a delayed Lisfranc injury that was misdiagnosed leaving me in a lot of pain and loss of mobility, the misdiagnosis has affected my future recovery, and I am now needing to have another operation to try to resolve the pain.

This injury has had a great impact on my physical health and my mental wellbeing. After the way I had been treated by the hospital I decided to put in a claim, I researched a lot of solicitors first but could not find any that specialised in Lisfranc injury until I came across Helen.

I am so glad I found Helen to represent me, she has provided an outstanding service that I am extremely grateful for, thank you Helen and your team."

Contact us

For further information about delayed diagnosis claims and medical negligence claims, please call Helen Thompson on 0330 460 6765 or email helen.thompson@fieldfisher.com.

• You can speak to our medical negligence solicitors on freephone 0800 358 3848
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All enquiries are completely free of charge and we will investigate all funding options for you including no win, no fee. Find out more about no win no fee claims.