Our client was involved in an accident in 1985 in which she sustained a fracture to her right shoulder. Although the shoulder was internally fixed, she didn’t regain full use of the shoulder. Some years later, in 2008, our client developed secondary osteoarthritis which required a shoulder replacement. The operation was complicated by a dislocation due to a rotator cuff problem.
As a result of this, she was readmitted in 2011 to undertake a revised shoulder replacement. A few months later she developed acute pain which was diagnosed as being caused by a fracture of the acromion and she was advised to wear a sling. Once the fracture was deemed to have healed, she was still suffering pain despite physiotherapy to the affected joint. It was not until early 2013 that our client was diagnosed with an infection in the replacement joint.
In February 2013, she had dark fluid drawn from the infected area and sent for testing. However, there were mistakes during processing which meant the results were never received. The next month, she was once again admitted for surgery for the removal of the prosthesis in her shoulder but, in the end, only part of the prosthesis was able to be removed.
In May 2013, while our client was on holiday, she noticed the appearance of abscesses in her scar and her arm began to swell severely. She attended hospital while on holiday and when she returned to the UK.
A couple of months later, she had the remainder of the prosthesis removed and was put on antibiotics. There were then complications to access the antibiotics and, in December 2013, she was admitted to hospital with septicaemia and multi-organ failure, and placed on a ventilator on the Intensive Care Unit.
While she was discharged from hospital in January 2014, she remained on antibiotics and it took two months before she could walk even with a walking stick. Our client was readmitted to hospital several times for her wound to be washed out. Once the wound had healed, a bespoke new prosthesis from Italy was inserted into her shoulder.
She has now recovered, although she still struggles with every day tasks due to limited movement in her shoulder but does not have a great deal of pain.
She contacted Farleys’ medical negligence team following her extensive ordeal, believing the diagnosis of infection and subsequent treatment were not handled as they should have been and resulted in her serious condition in the ICU.
On her behalf, Farleys Solicitors gathered together a case which included obtaining numerous medical reports and expert opinions. Farleys negotiated a settlement of £10,000.
Nick Molyneux commented;
“Our client suffered significantly due to the failings of the hospital trust for the past seven years and we knew she had a very good case to claim for damages. We hope that the compensation she has received can allow her to find closure on what must have been a very stressful period of her life.”