By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 13th September 2023. Welcome to this guide on claiming for an untreated ankle fracture. When you go to see a doctor after suffering an injury that might have left you with an ankle fracture, you are entitled to expect that injury to be diagnosed correctly so that you may receive effective treatment. If a doctor misdiagnoses you through incompetence and you suffer the effects of that you could have the right to make a missed ankle fracture claim. Here, we explain more about the average payout for an ankle injury and provide an alternative to an ankle injury compensation calculator to give you an idea of how much you could claim.
Medical negligence claim for a missed ankle fracture guide
What you need in order to make an effective claim for compensation is the basic knowledge of how medical negligence claims work and a good medical negligence solicitor.
AccidentClaims.co.uk can provide you with a No Win No Fee medical negligence lawyer to take on your case and can provide you with the knowledge you need to decide whether or not you wish to go ahead with attempting a claim. That is what this guide is for, read through it if you have suffered as a result of having a misdiagnosed ankle fracture. After you’re done you can use the contact details at the bottom of the page to reach our team and ask them for help in starting a claim.
Choose A Section
- What Are Missed And Misdiagnosed Fractures?
- Untreated Ankle Fracture – How Do I Establish Medical Negligence?
- Claims Where A GP Missed A Lateral Malleolus Fracture
- Claims Where A Hospital Missed A Lateral Malleolus Fracture
- What Are The NHS Responsibilities To Patients?
- Ankle Injury Compensation Payouts
- No Win No Fee Missed Lateral Malleolus Fracture Claims
- Start Your Missed Fracture Claim
- Supporting Information
What Are Missed And Misdiagnosed Fractures?
Fractures give away certain signs and symptoms when they occur. Often they cause pain, sometimes the victim can feel the sensation of the bone physically snapping or fracturing. They often cause swelling and difficulty in moving the body part affected (in this instance the ankle). Although in some cases it may be obvious that a bone has been broken (such as if the bone is protruding through the skin) it is still a doctors responsibility to perform an examination to confirm the presence of a broken or fractured bone. In some cases confirming the presence of a broken bone will require an X-ray scan, in others an X-ray will be required in order to confirm the exact extent and location of the fracture.
Misdiagnosis is when the signs of a broken bone are misinterpreted as being something else, essentially the doctor gets the diagnosis of the injury wrong. So, for example, a doctor may diagnose an ankle with a Lateral Malleolus fracture as merely being a sprained ankle. In other cases a doctor may miss the symptoms that indicate a broken bone altogether, resulting in no diagnosis being given. Misdiagnoses can happen despite a doctor doing all that is expected of them, but for the purpose of this article, we are referring to cases in which a doctor misdiagnoses a broken bone through negligence. Missed or misdiagnosed fractures can delay or prevent treatment of the broken bone, leading to the condition of the bone worsening. A lack of treatment can cause the patient to require more radical treatment or prevent the injury from healing properly altogether.
Untreated Ankle Fracture – How Do I Establish Medical Negligence?
If your fractured ankle was left untreated and you wish to claim, you’ll need to provide evidence of your doctor’s negligence and the impact the negligence has had on you. In this section, we’ll discuss how you can establish medical negligence following an untreated fracture in your ankle.
To prove your doctor has acted negligently, you can:
- Make detailed notes about any visits you have made to your doctor and what was communicated during these visits
- Get records of your appointment history
- Obtain statements from family members that can confirm what has happened
To prove any injuries, including physical or psychological injuries, you should:
- Provide any scans of your untreated ankle fracture, if possible
- Get a diagnosis from a medical professional
- Ask your GP for your medical records
If you have suffered financial harm as a result of a fractured ankle left untreated, you can collect the following evidence:
- Bank statements
- Receipts
- Invoices
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about gathering evidence for your ankle injury claim. We are available to talk 24/7.
Claims Where A GP Missed A Lateral Malleolus Fracture
GP’s are expected to be able to diagnose most forms of injuries and illnesses and to refer patients on to further testing and treatment. In cases in which they find themselves unable to tell for sure what exactly the patient’s condition is then they are obliged to refer them to specialists and scans to ensure that they can be diagnosed.
If GP fails to correctly diagnose a patient, when they reasonably should have been expected to, or if they fail to refer the patient to receive an X-ray when they suspect a broken bone, then a compensation claim could be made if it subsequently led to a worsening health condition.
Claims Where A Hospital Missed A Lateral Malleolus Fracture
Hospitals are places that patients with broken bones might go if they are rushed to A&E or if they need to receive an X-ray. Both of these scenarios could potentially lead to a patient being misdiagnosed due to medical negligence.
In A&E a patient might potentially have the signs of a broken ankle missed because doctors did not perform a thorough enough examination, or because doctors allowed themselves to become preoccupied with other injuries the patient had, both of these could be considered a breach of the doctor’s duty of care.
If an X-ray is being performed in hospital negligence could lead to it being performed incorrectly, such as the wrong part of the ankle being imaged, or an image being produced that is not clear enough. Doctors may also fail to spot the signs of a broken bone indicated by the image. Doctors or admin staff responsible for passing on the results of the X-ray could potentially fail to do so correctly. To see if you could be entitled to make a missed ankle fracture claim, why not speak with our team today?
What Are The NHS Responsibilities To Patients?
All doctors and medical professionals in both the NHS and in private healthcare practitioners have a duty of care to their patients. This means that they are obliged to provide you with reliable healthcare of a certain quality, lapses of the quality of care or mistakes are not permitted. If lapses or mistakes do occur, such as misdiagnoses, then the doctor or their hospital can be liable for any compensation that is awarded for the harm it causes.
You are entitled to be seen by a GP as long as you are registered with one. The GP, in particular, you are registered with and wish to be seen by may choose not to see you if they have to prioritise other patients or if your behaviour has given them a reason to not see you, but you will be assigned a different doctor. You have the right to request second opinions, but they may not always be granted if your doctor deems it unnecessary. You have the right to make complaints about your treatment against the NHS, you can read more about that here.
Ankle Injury Compensation Payouts
If you’re eligible to claim compensation for an untreated fractured ankle, you might wonder how your payout could be calculated.
A successful claim for a missed ankle fracture could result in general damages and special damages.
General damages compensate you for the avoidable pain and suffering you’ve endured because of the medical negligence you’ve experienced.
When calculating this head of claim, solicitors could refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication provides guidance on payout brackets for various injuries at different severities. Below, you will see a table which contains figures from the 2022 edition of the JCG. It could give you some insight into how much an untreated ankle fracture could be worth in compensation. However, this is only guidance. Your compensation payout would be unique to your case.
| Injury | Notes | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Amputation of one foot (c) | Loss of one foot either through traumatic severing or through surgical amputation. | £83,960 to £109,650 |
| Very severe foot injury (d) | Foot injuries causing permanent and severe pain and disability. | £83,960 to £109,650 |
| Very severe ankle injury (a) | Injuries leading to deformity and which, if repeated, could lead to a below knee amputation being required. | £50,060 to £69,700 |
| Severe ankle injuries (b) | Injuries requiring a lengthy period of treatment, including possibly the implementation of pins into the bone. Disabilities will persist to some degree despite surgery. | £31,310 to £50,060 |
| Moderate ankle injuries (c) | Injuries similar to those above but leading to less severe disabilities. | £13,740 to £26,590 |
| Modest injuries.(d) | In which either a full recovery has been made or any persisting symptoms are relatively minor. | Up to £13,740 |
| Most serious Achilles tendon injury (a) | Severing of achillies tendon and muscles in the ankle. Leading pain, swelling and lack of mobility. | In the region of £38,430 |
| Serious Achilles tendon injury. (b) | Where the severing of the tendon has been repaired but residual weakness and a limp and a full recovery is unlikely. | £24,990 to £30,090 |
| Moderate Achilles tendon injury (c) | Partial rupture of the Achilles tendon | £12,590 to £21,070 |
| Minor Achilles tendon injury (d) | Minor damage to the tendon caused by a turning of the ankle. | £7,270 to £12,590 |
As well as general damages, you could receive special damages to compensate you for out-of-pocket expenses caused by the negligence you’ve experienced. This could include:
- Loss of income
- Medical costs
- Travel expenses
- Care costs
You will need to provide evidence that such costs arose as a direct result of your untreated fracture to claim for them.
To learn more about evidence for such claims, or to ask how much you could receive in compensation, please contact an advisor.
No Win No Fee Missed Lateral Malleolus Fracture Claims
We can allow you to make a claim without having to pay upfront costs. Plus you won’t risk losing money through legal fees on an unsuccessful claim. This is done by offering all our claimants no win no fee agreements. This is an arrangement whereby the solicitor agrees to forfeit any payment if the claim is not successful. They receive a portion of the claimant’s compensation as payment if the claim is successful. To see if you could make a missed ankle fracture claim on a no win no fee basis, please call today.
You can begin a claim easily by calling 0800 073 8801. This will put you straight through to one of our medical negligence claims team members. They will discuss with you your circumstances and what making a compensation claim will entail. If you have grounds for a case they will offer to put you in contact with a medical negligence solicitor from our panel.
Supporting Information
Thanks for visiting today and reading about when you could make a missed ankle fracture claim. Here are some more resources you may find useful:
- Head here to learn more about medical misdiagnosis claims
- To learn more about medical negligence claims, see here
- Click here to see how much compensation you could get for a medical misdiagnosis
- Head here to learn how to claim for misdiagnosis of a fracture
- Learn how to sue the NHS for a misdiagnosis
- Here’s a guide on how to claim for a misdiagnosis of cancer
- Learn how to claim for a misdiagnosis over video examinaton
- This guide tells you all about claiming for a hospital missed fracture misdiagnosis
- Here’s a guide on claiming for a lunger cancer misdiagnosis
- Learn about claiming for a misdiagnosis of pancreatic cancer