A man has been awarded £35,000 compensation after suffering for four years with a fractured wrist, which doctors had failed to diagnose.

The first time he attended the hospital A&E department after injuring his wrist he saw a triage nurse and a doctor. He was X-rayed and it was recorded in his medical notes that there was no problem with swelling, bruising or bone tenderness.

He was told to rest at home. As it was his dominant wrist he continued to use it despite the pain and discomfort. After two months the pain got worse and he had to stop playing golf and cricket.

After three years he underwent privately funded physiotherapy and was referred to a consultant orthopaedic surgeon. An X-ray revealed an un-united fracture.

Nine months later he underwent a right vascularised bone graft and fixation, after which his wrist remained in a plaster cast for six weeks. A year-and-a-half later he had a CT scan which showed the bone graft had been a success. After another year he had surgery to remove the screw.

He took legal action against the first hospital. He accused it of being negligent in failing to carry out a thorough examination, and therefore failing to treat his wrist adequately. This led to four years of unnecessary pain and suffering.

The hospital admitted liability and agreed to an out-of-court settlement of £35,000 for his pain, suffering and loss of amenity, as well as his loss of earnings.

David Kerry said: “Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for hospitals to fail to correctly diagnose a patient’s condition. In this case, that failure led to four years of unnecessary suffering. It is only fair that he should be fully compensated.”

Please contact David Kerry if you would like help with making a clinical negligence claim.