Surgeon used wrong parts in hip replacement operation

A pensioner has been awarded £75,000 compensation after a surgeon used the wrong parts in her artificial hip operation.

The 69-year-old woman had suffered from osteoarthritis for several years. She underwent an operation for a total hip replacement.

The surgeon fitted what he believed was a ceramic on metal hip, which should be a ceramic head and a metal cup. He also corrected what he believed was a pre-operative leg length discrepancy.

However, following the operation, the woman began to experience severe pain. She had a 2cm leg length discrepancy as a result of the operation. She also had a mild static nerve injury and experienced numbness in her right leg and foot.

The pain became so intolerable that she had to spend most days in bed because it was the only place she didn’t have to move her hip and leg.

She went to another consultant who found that her hip replacement actually consisted of a metal head and a ceramic cup. This was a combination that was renowned for causing poor results and was not approved by any regulatory bodies across the world.

The metal head was worn and she had suffered inflammatory reaction to the metal debris. She suffered severe pain for 12 months before revision surgery. She also required a high level of care for 10 months afterwards.

She brought an action against the care trust saying it was negligent in its choice of components and for lengthening her leg unnecessarily.

The trust admitted liability and agreed to an out-of-court-settlement of £75,000.

David Kerry, Head of Medical Negligence said: “The very least you might expect when undergoing a hip operation is that the surgeon would use the right components; sadly that didn’t happen in this case and the unfortunate patient was subjected to months of unnecessary pain as a result.

“Thankfully the hospital trust accepted liability when presented with a strong legal case and agreed to an out-of-court settlement.”

If you have been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact David Kerry for more details.