A man in his 40s who had substandard surgical repair of a collarbone fracture was awarded £15,000 in compensation.
Following the failed surgery, which needed to be redone to correct the mistakes, he sought the help of Kelly Hunt at Medical Solicitors to make a medical negligence claim for his injuries.
Case summary
The claimant ‘C’ broke his clavicle (collarbone) and underwent surgery in June 2020 to fix the fracture. An Acumed plate and screws were used to reduce and realign the fractured bone.
However, C had persistent pain following the surgery and later x-rays showed that multiple errors had been made.
Only four screws had been used instead of the recommended six – three at each side of the fracture. There was also an empty drill hole at the most medial end of the plate (towards the ribcage) meaning the plate wasn’t centred over the collarbone correctly. During drilling, the drill breached the outer edge of the bone so the screw insertion was impractical.
Overall, the incorrect positioning of the plate and reduction in number of screws used meant it wasn’t stable and therefore couldn’t reduce and fixate the fracture.
C needed revision surgery, causing an additional eight weeks of recovery time.
The claim settled in November 2023 for £15,000 which included £12,500 general damages and £2,500 special damages for his loss of earnings and care/travel costs.
