Untreated Broken Hand
If your broken hand was left untreated due to medical mistakes, you could be the victim of medical negligence. This would entitle you to pursue a claim for compensation.
To find out if you can make a medical negligence compensation claim for an untreated broken hand, please get in touch with us at Glynns Solicitors.
Why would a broken hand be left untreated?
Sometimes breaks and fractures are left untreated on purpose. This may be because the bone cannot be put into plaster due to its location, such as the collar bone. Or it may be that the bone is so small that treatment is not necessary, such as a toe.
Medical practitioners should know when it is safe to leave a broken bone untreated. Often it is not appropriate to leave a break or fracture because it will not heal properly. The bone will reunite but it will knit together in the wrong position. That is why the majority of broken bones need to be re-set and immobilised with splints or a plaster cast.
Generally it is not advisable to leave a broken hand untreated. When this happens, therefore, it may be that medical mistakes are to blame. Indeed, sometimes medical practitioners fail to detect a broken hand – either because an x-ray is not deemed necessary, or because the x-ray images are not analysed correctly.
Untreated broken hand medical accident
When a broken hand is not treated due to medical errors, there will have been a substandard level of care. Medical practitioners should be able to diagnose a broken hand. It is unacceptable to dismiss the possibility of a broken hand without even carrying out an x-ray. It is also unacceptable for clinicians not to notice a fracture while looking at the x-ray image.
But sadly such mistakes do happen. This can result in terrible pain and suffering for the patient, who will be told they do not have a broken hand and can resume normal activities. The fracture will eventually heal, but it is likely that the bone will not be aligned properly. Consequently a surgical procedure may be needed to rectify the problem.
Even with delayed treatment, it is possible that normal function will never be regained. This will be very distressing, particularly if the patient's dominant (writing) hand is affected. We use our hands for many everyday tasks, such as dressing, cooking, writing and driving. Losing function in one hand will make life very difficult, and can even affect a person's ability to continue with employment.
Contact us for advice
If you have suffered complications because of an untreated broken hand, please get in touch with our legal team to discuss the possibility of making a compensation claim.
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